UK announces further sanctions on Russia targeting Putin’s ‘inner circle’

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - Britain on Wednesday introduced a new wave of sanctions targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “inner circle.”

The new sanctions targeted Oligarch Vladimir Potanin, “Russia’s second richest man and key supporter of the Kremlin,” and Anna Tsivileva, “Putin’s first cousin once removed and president of major Russian company,” according to a government statement.

The announcement said Potanin “continues to amass wealth as he supports Putin’s regime, acquiring Rosbank, and shares in Tinkoff Bank in the period since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

It said Tsivileva, the president of the prominent Russian coal mining company, JSC Kolmar Group, and her husband Sergey Tsivilev, the governor of the coal rich Kemerovo region, “have significantly benefitted from their relationship to Putin,” it added.

“JSC Kolmar Group is also being sanctioned today,” the statement said.

“As long as Putin continues his abhorrent assault on Ukraine, we will use sanctions to weaken the Russian war machine,” a government spokesperson said.

“Today’s sanctions show that nothing and no one is off the table, including Putin’s inner circle,” the spokesperson added.

The statement also said the UK government is also sanctioning a group of Russian individuals and companies “for their involvement in repressing civilians and supporting the Assad regime in Syria – exposing Russia’s malign activity across the globe.”

The UK government said it is also acting alongside international allies to introduce new measures that will “prevent Russia from accessing UK trusts services.”

It added: “These services, which allow a person or business to manage the assets of another, are another major element of the UK’s world-class financial services sector that Russia will no longer be able to use.”

Since the start of Ukraine-Russia war, the UK has sanctioned more than 1,000 people and over 120 businesses.