Ukraine war: UK announces largest sanctions package on Russia since 2022 invasion

UK escalates sweeping sanctions on Russia

The UK government on Tuesday unveiled what it described as its "biggest sanctions package" against Russia since the measures introduced immediately after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago, targeting oil exports and suppliers of military equipment.

To mark the anniversary of the invasion, London imposed nearly 300 fresh sanctions as Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper travelled to Kyiv.

The latest round pushes the number of companies and individuals sanctioned by Britain over the Ukraine war to more than 3,000.

Among the new steps is an asset freeze on Russia’s state-controlled pipeline operator Transneft, with the government pointing to the oil sector’s "strategic significance to the government of Russia".

According to British officials, Transneft handles more than 80 per cent of Moscow’s oil exports. The company has already been under Western sanctions since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Britain also targeted what it called Russia’s "dark web of illicit oil traders", taking action against one of the largest shadow fleet operators accused of shipping oil in breach of international sanctions.

The government said the sweeping measures delivered a clear signal that "Russian oil is off the market".

Meanwhile, a report published on Tuesday by a Finnish think tank found that Russia is exporting greater volumes of oil than it did before the invasion of Ukraine, with most shipments now heading to China, India and Turkey.

In addition, the British authorities imposed restrictions on firms supplying military equipment, as well as on Russia’s civil nuclear energy programme and liquefied natural gas sector.

Two television channels in Georgia were also sanctioned for allegedly spreading pro-Russian disinformation.

Both the stations under new sanctions -- Imedi TV and POSTV -- are widely seen as government mouthpieces, promoting the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has faced accusations of drifting toward Russia and derailing Georgia's bid to join the European Union.

The channels regularly claim Ukraine is a "puppet" of the West and portray President Volodymyr Zelensky as illegitimate, Britain said.

Georgia was long seen as one of the most pro-Western states in the former Soviet Union, but relations have soured amid mass protests over controversial laws stifling political dissent, media and civil society.

Imedi TV was founded by businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili who opposed pro-Western president Mikheil Saakashvili and died in Britain in 2008.

The channel was until recently owned by a British firm which weeks ago announced its sale to a Georgian media company and to the channel's management.

Both channels responded defiantly to the sanctions.

In a statement on Facebook, Imedi TV said the sanctions "have no value whatsoever" while state-owned channel POSTV gave its response on the platform as two smiley emojis.