Britain on Tuesday imposed sanctions on five Russian banks and three billionaires, however, Prime Minister Boris Johnson named it “the first barrage” of regulation in reply to Russia’s steps in Ukraine.
Talking at the UK parliament hours after Russia appointed troops into two Moscow-backed Ukrainian rebel regions, Johnson explained it as “a renewed invasion” of its western neighbour and “pretext for a full-scale offensive”.
“The UK and our allies will begin to slap the sanctions on Russia that we have already assembled… to approved Russian individuals and commodities of strategic importance to the Kremlin,” he informed MPs.
The British leader announced further sanctions were “a willingness to be deployed” if the Kremlin showed further aggression in what he predicted would be “a protracted crisis”.
The five banks slammed are — Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Bank — and three people ruled will see any UK assets frozen. The individuals troubled — Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg and Igor Rotenberg — will be restricted from travelling to Britain and all UK individuals and entities will be restricted from dealing with them and the lenders.
“We cannot tell what will occur in the days ahead,” Johnson added in the House of Commons, in the cross-party condemnation of Moscow’s actions.
“But… we should steel ourselves for a protracted crisis.” The sanctions declaration came after Johnson chaired an early morning committee with security chiefs, after which he promised to hit Russia “very hard”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognised the freedom of the rebel-held Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine and advised the defence ministry to conclude “the function of peacekeeping” in the separatist-held regions.
Britain’s relations with the Kremlin have been frosty since the poisoning death of an old Russian spy in London in 2006, and the attempted murder of another double agency in the southwestern town of Salisbury in 2018. Johnson’s spokesman announced earlier Tuesday that Russia’s ambassador to London had been called in for conversations on Ukraine by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
