The UK Government has announced a new package of 50 sanctions designations and specifications aimed at degrading Russia’s ability to fund and sustain its illegal war in Ukraine. The measures, announced while Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attends the G7 Leaders Summit in Italy, are part of coordinated action with the UK’s G7 partners to support Ukraine.
These new sanctions target various entities and individuals involved in Russia’s war effort. Notably, the UK has imposed its first sanctions on vessels in Putin’s “shadow fleet,” used by Russia to circumvent existing sanctions and continue trade in Russian oil. The UK is also targeting suppliers of munitions, machine tools, microelectronics, and logistics to Russia’s military, including entities based in China, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, and Türkiye, as well as ships transporting military goods from North Korea to Russia.
Furthermore, the sanctions crack down on institutions at the heart of Russia’s financial system, such as the Moscow Stock Exchange, in coordination with the United States, which designated the exchange a day earlier, on 12 June.
UK Prime Minister Sunak emphasized that the UK will “always stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in its fight for freedom,” and that “cutting off [Putin’s] ability to fund a prolonged conflict is absolutely vital.” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron stated that the sanctions are “starving Putin of the revenue he desperately needs to fund his war chest and making it harder to supply his war machine.”
According to the press release, sanctions have deprived Russia of over $400 billion worth of assets and revenues since February 2022, equivalent to four more years of funding for the invasion. The UK has sanctioned over 2,000 individuals and entities under its Russia sanctions regime, including 29 banks accounting for over 90% of the Russian banking sector and over 130 oligarchs and family members with a combined net worth of around £147 billion or $187.6 at the time of the invasion.
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