PRESS RELEASE : New UK sanctions mark 2 years since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine [February 2024]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 22 February 2024.

The UK announces more than 50 new sanctions to mark 2 years since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

The Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, has today (22 February) announced more than 50 new sanctions targeting individuals and businesses sustaining Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.

Sanctions crack down on those supplying his depleted armoury with munitions such as rocket launch systems, missiles and explosives.

These new sanctions also target key sources of Russian revenue, clamping down on metals, diamonds, and energy trade, and cutting off funding for Putin’s illegal war from every angle.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron said:

Ukraine has shown that it can and will defend itself. Putin mistakenly thought that because Russia’s economy is bigger than Ukraine’s, he would gain a quick victory. But the economies of Ukraine’s friends are 25 times bigger than Russia’s.

And 2 years on, we stand united in support for Ukraine.

Our international economic pressure means Russia cannot afford this illegal invasion. Our sanctions are starving Putin of the resources he desperately needs to fund his struggling war.

Together, we will not let up in the face of tyranny. We will continue to support Ukraine as it fights for democracy- for as long as it takes.

Today’s measures will disrupt Putin’s ability to equip his now struggling military with high tech equipment and much needed weaponry, as well as blocking him from refilling his war coffers – while Ukraine defends itself.

This round of designations serves as a clear signal that 2 years on, the UK stands united with our allies in unwavering support for Ukraine.

Today’s package forms part of wider UK action to restrict Putin’s war revenue streams and clamp down on his repeated attempts to evade western sanctions. We are preparing to bolster our existing powers to target malign Russian shipping activity and individual ‘shadow fleet’ vessels used by Russia to soften the blow of oil-related sanctions imposed by the UK alongside G7 partners.

This week new measures to strengthen the existing Oil Price Cap also came into force and we have expanded the list of items critical to Russia’s war machine that we are seeking to prevent getting to Russia.

The UK also launches its first sanctions strategy today, which sets out how our sanctions regimes are tackling malign activity and making a difference. We are in a more dangerous and uncertain world. Our latest Russia sanctions are one example of how our enhanced approach to sanctions enables us to respond. The new strategy sets out how we are working with allies and partners to address changing threats, to maximise our impact on the ground and to protect the UK.

This comes as Foreign Secretary David Cameron is due to visit New York for a special UN session dedicated to Ukraine. While there, he is expected to meet Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. His visit will mark the 2-year milestone of the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, and he is expected to underscore the UK’s unending support for Ukraine.

Among those sanctioned today are:

• companies linked to manufacturing munitions such as rocket launch systems, missiles, explosives and other critical goods used in military equipment. This includes Sverdlov State Owned Enterprise, the largest enterprise in the Russian ammunition industry
• key Russian importers and manufacturers of machine tools, which are instrumental in manufacturing vital defence systems and components ranging from missiles and engines to tanks and fighter jets
• oil trader Niels Troost and his company Paramount Energy & Commodities SA. Troost facilitates the unfettered trade of Russian oil outside the reach of UK and G7 sanctions, including through UAE-based Paramount Energy & Commodities DMCC, which the UK designated in November 2023
• Fractal Marine DMCC, Beks Ship Management, and Active Shipping, which operate in the Russian energy sector as part of Putin’s shadow fleet
• 2 Russian diamond companies and Pavel Alekseevich Marinychev, the new CEO of Alrosa, the largest state-owned Russian diamond producer, estimated to hold a 30% share in the global diamond market
• 5 senior executives or owners of Russia’s top producers of copper, zinc and steel