UK Imposes Sanctions Against 5 Russian Banks And 3 Oligarchs Due To Russia's Recognition Of DPR And LPR

The United Kingdom has imposed sanctions against five Russian banks and three oligarchs due to Russia's recognition of the self-proclaimed "Luhansk People's Republic" and "Donetsk People's Republic".

The British Foreign Office has said this in a statement, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

“Oligarchs close to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and banks that financed Russia's occupation of Crimea were targeted in the first wave of UK sanctions in response to Russia's further violation of Ukraine's sovereignty,” reads the statement.

Using new powers introduced on February 10, the UK has frozen assets and imposed travel bans on three leading Russian elites: businessmen Gennady Timchenko, Boris and Igor Rotenberg.

The assets of five Russian banks that financed the occupation of Crimea were also frozen: Rossiya Bank, the Black Sea Development and Reconstruction Bank, IS Bank, Genbank, and Promsvyazbank, the main bank supporting the Russian defense sector.

The report notes that this is the first wave of sanctions against Russia and the UK is ready to go much further if Russia does not give up aggression.

The UK will also impose sanctions on those members of the Russian Duma and the Federation Council who voted to recognize the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, which is a flagrant violation of Ukraine's territorial sovereignty.

Besides, in the coming weeks, the UK will extend the territorial sanctions imposed on Crimea to non-government-controlled territory in the so-called self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk “republics.”

“No British citizen or business will be able to deal with this territory until it is returned to Ukrainian control,” reads the statement.

In the event of further aggressive actions by Russia against Ukraine, the UK has prepared an unprecedented package of additional sanctions aimed at the Russian financial sector and trade.

If Russia does not de-escalate, the UK will soon pass legislation that, among other things, will prevent Russia from issuing sovereign debt in UK markets.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on February 21, Putin made a decision on the appeal to him from the State Duma and the leadership of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics for their recognition.