Britain Slaps Sanctions On 386 Russian Politicians

The Boris Johnson government on Friday announced sanctions on 386 members of Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament, which will ban them from travelling to the UK, accessing assets and doing business in the country.

The 386 Duma members had supported the recognition of the breakaway Ukraine regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. An official release said the Duma ratified treaties in February "which recognised the independence of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions – part of Ukrainian sovereign territory – and authorised the permanent presence of Russian military there, acting as a pretext for Russia's invasion".

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: "We will not let up the pressure and will continue to tighten the screw on the Russian economy through sanctions. Together with our allies, we stand firmly beside our Ukrainian friends. We will continue to support Ukraine with humanitarian aid, defensive weapons and diplomatic work to isolate Russia internationally". The sanctions build on Thursday's crackdown on key oligarchs from Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle, and the introduction of new UK powers to detain Russian aircraft and ban the export of aviation items.

Since Russia's attack, the UK has sanctioned more than 500 of Russia's most significant and high-value individuals, entities and subsidiaries, bringing the total now covered by the UK's sanctions list to over 800. Friday's announcement brings the total number of Duma members sanctioned by the UK to 400. Russia has been pounding Ukraine's cities, while its main attack force north of Kyiv has made only halting progress since the invasion's early days. Russia denies that it has attacked Ukraine, but says it is conducting a "special operation" to disarm and "de-Nazify" Ukraine, which it says is going to plan.