UK Sanctions Over 370 More Russians, Including Defense Minister & Ex-President

The UK and the EU unveiled their latest sanctions against Russia as punishment for the Ukraine invasion, which are among the most expansive yet, given they include no less than 370 specific sanctions against Russian individuals and entities. Importantly, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is the list, as well as former president Dmitry Medvedev.

Among the fresh actions the UK has enacted is a ban on exports of all its luxury goods to Russia, and more importantly tariffs on inbound Russian goods valued at over $1 billion.

NEW: The British government is slapping 370 new sanctions on Russia, w/ penalties against Putin’s top allies & some of the richest 🇷🇺 oligarchs: statement.

Among the top targets:
• PM Mishustin
• MinDef Shoigu
• Fmr Pres Medvedev
• Alfa Bank chair Petr Aven

— Jack Detsch (@JackDetsch) March 15, 2022

Russian goods including imports of vodka, high-end fashion, fur, works of art, and steel will see an additional 35% tariff, while the UK has further denied Russia and Belarus “most favored nation” trading status, which now deprives both of benefits regarding hundreds of exports. 

“Our new tariffs will further isolate the Russian economy from global trade, ensuring it does not benefit from the rules-based international system it does not respect,” UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak said in a Tuesday statement.

“These tariffs build on the UK’s existing work to starve Russia’s access to international finance, sanction Putin’s cronies and exert maximum economic pressure on his regime. These new measures will further tighten the growing economic pressure on Russia and ensure the UK acts in line with sanctions imposed by our allies,” it added.

A specific list of the export ban details is expected at a near-future date. According to CNN it is expected to have the following included: 

The full list of Russian goods facing import tariffs is: Iron, steel, fertilizers, wood, tires, railway containers, cement, copper, aluminum, silver, lead, iron ore, residue/food waste products, beverages, spirits and vinegar (this includes vodka), glass and glassware, cereals, oil seeds, paper and paperboard, machinery, works of art, antiques, fur skins and artificial fur, ships and white fish.

In terms of individual Russian officials, the new UK/EU measures mean that at this point over 1,000 individuals and entities have been targeted by the Western measures thus far.

The Guardian describes, “The UK is to impose sanctions on 370 more Russian individuals, including more than 50 oligarchs and their families with a combined net worth of £100bn, in the latest raft of measures against Vladimir Putin’s regime.”

“More than 1,000 individuals and entities have now been targeted with sanctions since the invasion of Ukraine, with fresh measures announced against key Kremlin spokespeople and political allies of Putin, including the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, considered a member of his elite inner circle of advisers known as his siloviki,” the report indicates.