The UK has announced sanctions on 386 Russian politicians who supported Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the Foreign Office has said.
The sanctions mean bans on travel to the UK and the freezing of assets for those who voted for the independence of separatist regions Luhansk and Donetsk.
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Putin: Sanctions causing ‘problems’
They also include the introduction of new powers to detain Russian aircraft in the UK and ban the export of aviation items.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the UK was “targeting those complicit in Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and those who support this barbaric war”.
“We will not let up the pressure and will continue to tighten the screw on the Russian economy through sanctions,” she said.
“Together with our allies, we stand firmly beside our Ukrainian friends. We will continue to support Ukraine with humanitarian aid, defensive weapons and diplomatic work to isolate Russia internationally.”
Oligarchs hit with sanctions by UK government
The latest action comes after seven more Russian oligarchs with links to Putin were hit with sanctions by the UK government on Thursday, including Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who has previously denied having close ties with Russian president.
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The other six Russian oligarchs sanctioned are:
• Oleg Deripaska, who has stakes in En+ Group – a major extractives and energy company
• Igor Sechin, chief executive of Rosneft – a Russian state oil company
• Andrey Kostin, chairman of VTB bank – the second largest bank in Russia
• Alexei Miller, chief executive of energy company Gazprom
• Nikolai Tokarev, president of the Russia state-owned pipeline company Transneft
• Dmitri Lebedev, chairman of the board of directors of Bank Rossiya – widely considered to be the Kremlin’s private bank
Friday’s move means more than 800 Russian individuals, entities and subsidiaries have been hit with sanctions, the Foreign Office said, including 18 lead oligarchs with a combined worth over £30bn.