The United Kingdom (U.K.) has recently introduced 92 new sanctions that prohibit the “export of every item Ukraine has found Russia using on the battlefield to date.” These sanctions form part of a series of internationally coordinated sanctions and trade measures that include bans on the export of hundreds of goods, including aircraft parts, radio equipment, and electronic components.
The government has frozen the assets of a number of entities that made goods or technology available “that could contribute to destabilising Ukraine or undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine.” Other entities have been sanctioned for “‘obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia’ by carrying on business in the strategically important defence sector.”
The government has also frozen the assets of, and banned travel into the U.K. by, senior executives at Russia’s state-owned nuclear power company, which is believed to have been supplying arms manufacturers with technology and materials. Four banks are also being sanctioned, as banking is considered to be “a sector of strategic significance to the government of Russia.” The aim of imposing sanctions on the banks is to “further isolat[e] Russia from the international financial system and help the UK and partners to prevent circumvention.” A number of Russian and Iranian executives are also targeted in the sanctions.
The government stated:
Military intelligence has shown that a shortage of components in Russia as a result of sanctions is already likely affecting their ability to produce equipment for export, such as armoured vehicles, attack helicopters and air defence systems. As a result, it is highly likely that Russia’s role as a reliable arms exporter and their military-industrial complex are being undermined by international sanctions. Today’s measures will damage them further, undermining Putin’s military machine which is already having to mobilise soviet-era tanks and harvest freezers for low-grade chips.
The aim of the sanctions is to “encourag[e] Russia to cease actions destabalising Ukraine or undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine.”
The U.K. is also introducing trade measures that will prohibit the import of 140 goods from Russia, which include iron and steel products that are processed in third countries. The government has stated that since trade sanctions were introduced, the export of goods to Russia has fallen by 80% and the import of Russian goods has dropped by 99%.
In addition to these sanctions, the government is extending current measures in place in Crimea to target the Russian-controlled oblasts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to restrict the access of these areas to U.K. trade and finance.
The U.K. government currently appears to have over 1,700 sanctions in place on the sanctions list made under the Russia Sanctions (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. These sanctions freeze assets and prohibit U.K. citizens, wherever they are located, and businesses in the U.K. from dealing with any economic resources or funds owned, held, or controlled by the person or entity designated in the sanctions. Travel bans prohibit the entry of designated individuals into the U.K. Entities or individuals subject to transport sanctions commit a criminal offense by flying or landing in the U.K. The sanctions also ban Russian ships from U.K. ports.
Clare Feikert-Ahalt, Law Library of Congress
March 3, 2023
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