Sanctions imposed on 386 Russian politicians

THE UK Government has sanctioned more than 300 Russian parliamentarians as Tory ministers attempt to “tighten the screw” on Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said 386 members of the Duma – the lower house of the Russian parliament – who have backed Putin’s war in Ukraine are being banned from travelling to the UK and any assets they have in the country will be frozen.

The UK Government originally announced its intention to sanction the parliamentarians last month over their support for the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.

The move follows the announcement on Thursday that seven more oligarchs linked to Putin, including Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, were being subjected to similar measures.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned more sanctions were being drawn up to “tighten the economic vice around the Putin regime”.

In a statement, Ms Truss said: “We’re 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.

“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.”

After the latest announcement, the UK has now sanctioned more than 500 high-value individuals and entities since the invasion of Ukraine began, while Russian aircraft, including oligarchs’ private jets, are banned from the UK.

In a speech in Washington on Thursday, Ms Truss said western allies needed to continue to do more – including freezing all Russian banking assets and excluding Russia completely from the

Swift global payments system.

She said: “We want a situation where they can’t access their funds, they can’t clear their payments, their trade can’t flow, their ships can’t dock and their planes can’t land.”