UK sanctions Russian banks and wealthy individuals, warns of tougher actions

Following President Vladimir Putin‘s decision to send soldiers into eastern Ukraine, the United Kingdom has imposed targeted economic restrictions on five Russian banks and three wealthy people.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Tuesday that the first round of sanctions would target Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank, and the Black Sea Bank.

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Three “very high net worth” people, Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg, and Igor Rotenberg, would also face sanctions as a result of the actions.

According to Johnson, the persons in question would have their U.K. assets frozen and will be barred from entering the nation. All individuals and businesses from the United Kingdom will be prevented from interacting with them, he added.

Despite himself and several other international leaders giving Putin “every opportunity” to pursue his goals through diplomacy, Johnson said the move to censure Russia had occurred.

“We will not give up,” Johnson said. “We will continue to seek a diplomatic solution until the last possible moment but we have to face the possibility that none of our messages have been heeded and that Putin is implacably determined to go further in subjugating and tormenting Ukraine.”

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He added, “This the first tranche, the first barrage of what we are prepared to do and we hold further sanctions at readiness to be deployed alongside the United States and the European Union if the situation escalates still further.”

His remarks come as EU parliamentarians consider imposing penalties on Russian officials and banks, as well as limiting the Kremlin’s access to the bloc’s capital, financial markets, and services. On Tuesday, the EU is likely to make a final decision on its sanctions package.

Meanwhile, Germany suspended certification of the extremely contentious Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which is intended to transport natural gas directly from Russia to Europe.

By formally recognising Luhansk and Donetsk as independent entities, Johnson said Putin had “flagrantly violated” international law. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised troops to “perform peacekeeping functions” in the breakaway regions.

The directive was met with widespread outrage, with politicians calling it a “blatant” and “unacceptable” breach of international law.

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Following months of simmering tensions over Russia’s military deployment on Ukraine’s borders, the evolving scenario has heightened worries of a major conflict in Europe.

In a televised address on Tuesday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the country is “dedicated to diplomatic means of solving this issue.”

“This is our choice. We are on our land. We’re not afraid of anyone and everyone,” he said, according to an NBC News transcript.

In light of the increasing crisis, Prime Minister David Cameron said it was “absolutely vital” to keep more penalties on the table.

“We want to stop Russian companies from being able to raise funds in sterling or indeed in dollars … We want them to stop raising funds on U.K. markets and we want to strip away the veil that conceals the ownership of property in this country and indeed throughout the West,” Johnson said.

“The measures that we have prepared are much, much tougher still and we will have absolutely no hesitation in implementing them.”