On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the British government announced a new, massive package of sanctions. The list of restrictions includes almost 300 companies and individuals, as well as dozens of ships of the so-called “shadow fleet.” London said that this package was the largest since the beginning of the Great War. This was reported by the press service of the British government.
The restrictions are aimed at key sources of Russia’s income, primarily in the field of energy exports, in particular oil, as well as suppliers of military technology and equipment that support the continuation of hostilities.
Nine Russian banks were sanctioned: Poshta Bank, Tochka, Transcapitalbank, Absolut Bank, Sinara, Avers, Lanta Bank, Ak Bars and Fora Bank. Also on the list are Transneft, Rosatom Energy Projects, REIN Engineering, Rusatom Overseas, as well as the liquefied natural gas companies Cryogas-Vysok and Gazprom LNG Portovaya.
Separately, the United Kingdom has imposed sanctions on 48 vessels it considers part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to circumvent oil restrictions. In addition, 175 legal entities associated with the 2Rivers network were subject to restrictions.
According to Bloomberg, this structure, which is associated with Azerbaijani traders Etibar Eyyub and Tahir Garayev, played an important role in the supply of hundreds of millions of barrels of Russian oil despite international sanctions.
Sanctions were also applied to two Georgian television channels – Imedi TV and POSTV. London believes that they are involved in the spread of Russian disinformation.
Earlier, on December 18, the British government had already expanded sanctions against the Russian energy sector, adding 19 legal entities and 5 individuals. In addition, on February 24, the United Kingdom announced the allocation of additional military, humanitarian and technical assistance to Ukraine. The funds will be directed to supporting critical infrastructure, strengthening the personnel potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and assisting communities.
