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The UK government has announced a new wave of sanctions against Russia, targeting 86 businesses and individuals connected to Russia’s energy, metals, defence, transport and financial sectors.
The new package includes targeting those supporting the Kremlin that actively undermine the impact of existing sanctions, Downing Street said, adding that they continue to work with G7 partners to tackle all forms of sanctions circumvention.
Those sanctioned also include businesses connected to the systematic theft of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural goods, which have been reportedly stolen from warehouses and fields in the temporarily occupied territories in Ukraine and then shipped out from Zaporizhzhia as Russian goods.
“Putin and his supporters must — and will — pay the price for their illegal invasion of Ukraine,” foreign secretary James Cleverly commented.
The sanctions package, which was announced as UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrived at the G7 summit in Japan, includes a ban on Russian diamonds, an industry worth $4bn in exports in 2021, as well as imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel.
Five financial institutions have also been sanctioned to further isolate Russia from the global financial system and undermine Putin’s military capability.
This includes JSC Dom RF, which acts under the instruction of the Russian government, and Metallurgical Investment Bank, which is supporting Russia’s industrial exports.
“Ensuring Ukraine wins is the most important thing we can do for global peace and security,” Sunak said.
“Sanctions are having a clear impact in degrading Putin’s war effort,” the PM tweeted.
The announcement follows Sunak’s meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last Monday (May 15), who is now on a worldwide tour, having made surprise trips to leaders in Berlin, Rome and Paris in the past week.
In coordination with the UK move, G7 economies announced similar measures targeting those operating in key sectors, such as manufacturing, construction and transportation, as well as business services.
Sunak said the sanctions announcements “demonstrate [that] the G7 remains unified in the face of the threat from Russia and steadfast in our support for Ukraine”.
“The G7 stands united with [Ukraine],” the PM stressed.
To date, the UK has sanctioned more than 1,500 individuals and entities, freezing more than £18bn of assets in the UK, and sanctioned more than £20bn of UK-Russia goods trade.
Earlier this month, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission’s president, outlined proposals for an 11th round of sanctions against Russia, also focusing on third-party circumvention.
If accepted, that package would enable the EU to sanction exports to countries such as China if the EU believes those goods would end up in Russia.
The new package will now need to be negotiated by the European Council and news outlets have reported that this will be tense considering the political stakes, as reported by VIXIO.
In response to the new wave of sanctions, Russia has banned entry to the country to 500 US citizens, including former President Barack Obama.
