bridge across the Kerch Strait to Crimea
© Andrew Osborn / Reuters The construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait to Crimea is seen from the outskirts of the Taman settlement in Krasnodar region, southern Russia.
The US Department of Commerce is expanding its blacklist of Russian companies and individuals over their alleged links to the Ukrainian conflict.

The list was published on the Federal Register's website on Tuesday, and identifies "entities and other persons reasonably believed to be involved in, or that pose a significant risk of being or becoming involved in, activities that are contrary to the national security or foreign policy of the United States."

The blacklist consists of 75 Russian companies and up to 37 individuals. Among the sanctioned companies are 11 Russian and international electronics firms including one of the largest Eastern European manufacturers of integrated circuits Angstrem Group, Foreign Economic Association, radio and microelectronics manufacturer Mikron.

Seven sanctioned companies are said to be directly involved in the construction of the 19 kilometer (11.8 miles) road and rail connection across the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black and the Azov Seas.

Last week, the US Treasury Department introduced sanctions related to the conflict in eastern Ukraine against 18 construction, transportation and defense entities operating in the Crimea, as well as dozens of Gazprom and Bank of Moscow subsidiaries. The list also included an additional 11 Crimean officials.

Gazprom said the new sanctions will not affect its business.

EU follows suit

The European Union has prolonged its sanctions against Russia over the conflict in eastern Ukraine and Crimea, Reuters cites diplomats as saying.

Travel bans and asset freezes covering 150 people and 37 entities have been extended for six months. The initial ban was due to expire on September 15.

The EU sanction list includes leading Russian officials, businessmen, and people reportedly involved in the war effort and celebrities who support government policy on Ukraine.

Moscow responds

The US move to expand its sanctions list to target Russian companies is not in line with proposed cooperation in sensitive areas, which the leaders of the two nations discussed at the G20 summit in China, the Kremlin said, warning of possible retaliation.

The expansion "goes in serious discord with the issues of possible cooperation in sensitive areas, which the two presidents discussed at their meeting," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Barack Obama held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China on Monday. A possible joint effort to fight terrorism in Syria and other possible forms of cooperation were discussed, according to US and Russian officials.

Commenting on the latest sanctions escalation, Peskov said Russia would respond accordingly.

"As far as the sanctions go, we base our polices on the principle of reciprocity," he said. "We will analyze the new list."

"We can only express regret that the meeting of the two presidents... was framed by such additional expansions of the sanctions," the Kremlin spokesman added.

The measures are also aimed at Russian air defense systems producer Almaz-Antey, as well as several enterprises in Crimea that were taken over by the new authorities after the peninsula's reunification with Russia in March 2014.

The US and EU imposed sanctions on Russia in 2014 after accusing Moscow of involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine and of annexing Crimea. The Kremlin has denied the accusations and responded with counter-measures, banning imports from the EU, US and others.