British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Tuesday announced a “historic round of sanctions” against 370 Russian and Belarusian citizens, 51 of whom are oligarchs and their family members, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That’s according to the website of the UK government, Ukrinform reports.
“We are going further and faster than ever in hitting those closest to Putin – from major oligarchs, to his Prime Minister, and the propagandists who peddle his lies and disinformation. We are holding them to account for their complicity in Russia’s crimes in Ukraine. Working closely with our allies, we will keep increasing the pressure on Putin and cut off funding for the Russian war machine,” Truss said in a statement.
Putin’s political allies who are now sanctioned include Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and former President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev. Meanwhile, Russian propagandists who have been designated include Putin’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov and Russian Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, among others. A notorious internet ‘troll farm’, the Internet Research Agency, has also been sanctioned.
Britain has also imposed sanctions against Russian billionaire and co-founder of Alfa Group Mikhail Fridman and founder and ex-beneficiary of EuroChem Group Andrey Melnichenko. Individuals sanctioned today will have their assets in the UK frozen, which means no UK citizen or company can do business with them and they are also banned from travelling to or from the UK.
