The UK government unveiled new sanctions on members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Among those sanctioned are Russia’s second richest man, Vladimir Potanin, and the president of a prominent Russian Coal mining company, Anna Tsivileva.
Vladimir Potanin owns the conglomerate Interros, which operates in industries such as mining, metals, energy, finance, retail and real estate. Anna Tsivileva is a close relative of Putin and President of Russian coal mining company JSC Kolmar Group. The UK government accuses both individuals of profiting off of Russia’s continued war in Ukraine.
The sanctions against Potanin and Tsivileva were only part of the Wednesday sanctions announcement. The UK government also announced an initiative which prevents Russia from accessing UK trust services, as a part of a coordinated allied response to the war in Ukraine.
Since the onset of Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, the UK has sanctioned more than 1,000 people and over 100 businesses. A UK government spokesperson said that “[a]s long as Putin continues his abhorrent assault on Ukraine, we will use sanctions to weaken the Russian war machine. Today’s sanctions show that nothing and no one is off the table, including Putin’s inner circle.”
UK allies have also continued to penalize Russia for its actions in Ukraine. For example US President Joe Biden’s administration added five Chinese companies to a trade blacklist over the companies’ alleged support of Russia’s military and defense industries in the invasion of Ukraine.