UK adopts new package of penalties

Britain slapped sanctions on 59 more Russian individuals and entities, as well as six Belarusian enterprises over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, targeting a shadowy mercenary firm and the world’s largest diamond producer.

The latest measures, against a range of key strategic industries and people, takes to more than 1,000 the number of Russian and Belarusian individuals and businesses sanctioned by London in recent weeks.

Those now include the billionaire oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler, the founder of Tinkoff bank Oleg Tinkov, Sberbank chief executive Herman Gref, and Polina Kovaleva, said to be the stepdaughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Galina Danilchenko, installed by Moscow as mayor of the Ukrainian city Melitopol, became the first person sanctioned by London for collaboration with Russian forces currently in Ukraine.

Britain also targeted six more banks, Russian Railways, the defence company Kronshtadt — the main producer of Russian drones — and diamond giant Alrosa, according to the foreign ministry.

The Wagner Group, an organisation of Russian mercenaries which has been active in the Kremlin’s other recent conflict zones and has reportedly been tasked with assassinating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, was also sanctioned.

“These oligarchs, businesses and hired thugs are complicit in the murder of innocent civilians and it is right that they pay the price,” Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement announcing the new package of penalties.

“Putin should be under no illusions — we are united with our allies and will keep tightening the screw on the Russian economy to help ensure he fails in Ukraine,” she added.

All those sanctioned will see their British assets frozen, meaning no UK citizen or company can do business with them, while individuals are subject to travel bans prohibiting them from travelling to or from Britain.

The latest measures will bring the total global asset value of the banks the UK has sanctioned since the invasion to £500 billion ($660 billion, 600 billion euros), the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office said.

The net worth of oligarchs and family members targeted totals more than £150 billion, it added.

The announcement comes as Western leaders gather for emergency Nato and G7 summits in Brussels, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson will commit to a new military aid package to help Ukraine’s fight against Russian forces.

Earlier, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for the world to prevent Russia using its gold reserves, ahead of a Nato summit on Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We need to do more and so we need to do more economically,” Johnson told LBC radio a month after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his devastating invasion of Ukraine.

“Can we do more to stop him using his gold reserves, for instance, in addition to his cash reserves? What can we do more to sanction SWIFT?” he said, referring to the international bank transfer system.

Johnson said that as well as increasing military support to Ukraine, “we’ve got to go further” economically.

“My message today in Nato will be that there are ways in which the world can continue to intensify the pressure on Putin,” he said.

“The more we do that now, the more pressure we apply now, particularly on things like gold, … I believe the more we can shorten the war, shorten the slaughter in Ukraine,” he said.

Moreover Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain would send 6,000 missiles and £25 million ($33 million, 30 million euros) in financial aid to Ukraine’s army to help it fight Russian forces.

The announcement of the funding and additional military hardware, consisting of anti-tank and high explosive weapons, comes on the eve of Nato and G7 summits set to discuss the Russian invasion.

The British leader will urge Western allies to “step up a gear” in their responses to Moscow’s actions, including by providing “enhanced defensive support to Ukraine and doubling down on economic sanctions”, according to his office.

Johnson added the international community faced a choice of keeping “the flame of freedom alive in Ukraine” or risking it “being snuffed out across Europe and the world”.

London has already provided Kyiv with over 4,000 anti-tank weapons, including Next-Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapons Systems (NLAWs) and so-called Javelin missiles.

The UK government is also supplying Starstreak high-velocity anti-aircraft missiles to help counter aerial bombings, as well as body armour, helmets and combat boots.

The hardware has been credited as playing a key part in helping Ukraine stall Russia’s invasion.

Britain has previously committed £400 million in humanitarian and economic aid for the crisis in Ukraine.

The new £25 million funding will help pay the salaries of Ukrainian soldiers, pilots and police and ensure the country’s armed forces are well equipped with high-quality equipment, Downing Street said.

In addition to the new military kit and funding, Britain will also provide an additional £4.1 million for the BBC World Service as part of a cross-government effort to tackle disinformation in Russia and Ukraine, it added.