UK announces new sanctions against Russia, targeting nuclear energy sector
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a new wave of sanctions against the Russian Federation, targeting companies connected to Rosatom, a state-owned nuclear energy company, and individuals and entities connected to theft of Ukrainian grain.
Source: website of the UK government
Details: New sanctions target 86 individuals and entities connected to Russia’s energy, metals, defence, transport, and financial sectors.
Sanctions targeting the energy sector introduce restrictions on nine organisations connected to Rosatom, including the following:
- UMATEX, which produces composite materials based on carbon fibre for Rosatom, which could be used for military purposes;
- TRINITI, whose research and development into laser physics is directly funded by the Russian Federation’s State Defence Order. TRINITI’s lasers have been installed on tank chassis to dazzle aircraft optics and disrupt precision weapons.
Oleg Romanenko, a Russian-appointed "director" of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, who has been colluding with the Russian government, the Operating Organisation of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, 13 members of the Gazprom-Neft board of directors, and five members of the Transneft board of directors have also been been included in the sanctions list.
Sanctions targeting the transport sector have been imposed on 24 individuals and entities connected to Russia’s theft of Ukrainian grain, including Pawell Shipping Co LLP, the State Grain Corporation (GZO) and its director Nikita Busel. These entities have reportedly stolen grain and other agricultural goods from warehouses and fields in the temporarily occupied territories in Ukraine and shipped them out, marking them as Russian goods.
Six major Russian shipping companies which have helped Russia circumvent or undermine the effects of Western sanctions have also been sanctioned, including Sun Ship Management, an entity connected to Sovcomflot, Russia’s largest state-owned shipping company.
Individuals and entities in Russia’s military sector were also sanctioned. Twenty defence executives and companies equipping both the Russian Armed Forces and the Wagner Group have also been sanctioned today. Among others, the new sanctions target Alan Lushinkov and Vladimir Lepin, who are both Directors of JSC Concern Kalashnikov, who produce 95% of all firearms in Russia.
JSC BMZ, which has produced anti-personnel and anti-tank mines used by the Russian armed forces in Ukraine and JSC Motovilikhinskiye, a minority subsidiary of Russian defence conglomerate Rostec, which manufactures howitzers used by the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine, have also been sanctioned.
In the metal industries, the UK sanctioned Igor Altushkin, the billionaire oligarch who owns the Russian Copper Company. "As the third largest producer of copper in Russia, Altushkin and his business have continued to play a key role in a sector of strategic significance for Putin’s military machine," the press release reads.
Another 8 companies connected to metals production in Russia have also been sanctioned, and the UK has announced that they will also ban imports of Russian metals including aluminium, nickel, and copper.
The last tranche of sanctions targets Russia’s financial sector. Five financial institutions have been sanctioned, including JSC Dom RF, which acts under the instruction of the Russian government, and Metallurgical Investment Bank, which is supporting Russia’s industrial exports.
Background: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to announce a ban on the import of Russian diamonds to the UK during the G7 summit in Hiroshima.
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