What did 20 September 2018 reveal about sanctions and Russia?

What did 20 September 2018 show about the pressures surrounding Russia and its neighbours? Three separate reports from that date and the days before it point to arms sales, a regional air incident and a belated institutional overhaul in Kyiv.

Sanctions on a Chinese military agency

On 20 September 2018, the US State Department imposed sanctions on the Equipment Development Department, an agency within China's military. The reason given was its purchase of Sukhoi Su-35 fighters and S-400 missile system equipment through Rosoboronexport, Russia's main arms export agency. The measure was taken under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). That law imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia, and works by preventing US companies from doing business with sanctioned entities. It passed the Senate 98–2 on 27 July 2017 after clearing the House 419–3, and was signed on 2 August 2017 by President Donald Trump, who nevertheless believed the legislation was "seriously flawed".

The downed Russian aircraft

On 18 September 2018, news emerged that a Russian Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft with fourteen people on board, missing since Monday over the Mediterranean Sea, had been shot down. Russia accused Israel of not giving enough warning before launching its attacks, which it said led Syria to shoot the plane down. Later accounts put the toll at 15 crew and described the incident as follows: Israeli aircraft struck targets in government-controlled western Syria on 17 September 2018, and Syrian air defences responding to them accidentally hit the Russian plane. Russia blamed Israel for putting its aircraft in the line of fire. The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged striking a Syrian weapons facility and expressed sorrow for the loss of life caused by Syrian fire. The strikes came a few hours after a Russo-Turkish agreement to create a demilitarised zone around Idlib Governorate, which postponed an imminent offensive by Syria's forces and its allies.

Kyiv renews its election commission

On the same date, 20 September 2018, Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, renewed the membership of the Central Election Commission. The previous line-up was due to have been replaced four years earlier.