UK government announces new sanctions on Russia

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russia and its enablers on 19 May, which includes five financial institutions and entities involved in Russia’s alleged theft of Ukrainian grain. A total of 86 individuals and entities have been designated, across Russia’s energy, metals, defence, transport and financial sectors. Before the G7 in Japan on the same day, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also announced new import bans on Russian diamonds and metals.

Alongside the new designations, James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, also reiterated that Russia’s sovereign assets in the UK will remain immobilised until Russia agrees to pay for the damage it has caused to Ukraine. Cleverly said: “Putin and his supporters must – and will – pay the price for their illegal invasion of Ukraine. That’s why through today’s new sanctions we are increasing the economic pressure on Putin – making it harder for him to wage his illegal war and inflict untold suffering on innocent Ukrainians. We will continue to increase this pressure and crack down on all emerging forms of circumvention until Ukraine prevails and peace is secured. Our support for Ukraine is, and will remain, resolute for as long as it takes.”

The designations include the following entities and individuals: five financial institutions, which includes JSC Dom RF and Metallurgical Investment Bank; nine organisations connected to Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company, Rosatom, which includes UMATEX and TRINITI; Oleg Romanenko, a lead official at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant; the operating organisation of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant; 13 members of the Gazprom-Neft board of directors; five members of the Transneft board of directors; Igor Altushkin, an oligarch who owns the Russian Copper Company; eight companies connected to metals production in Russia; 24 individuals and entities connected to Russia’s transport services, which includes six major Russian shipping companies; and 20 defence executives and companies.

The import bans announced by the UK prime minister during the first day of the G7 summit in Hiroshima consist of a ban on Russian diamonds, an industry said to be worth USD 4bn in exports in 2021, as well as imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel.