Britain sanctioned 386 Russians on Friday, including all members of Russia’s lower chamber of parliament.
It stated that it would seek to impose a ban on the export of luxury products to Russia in order to intensify diplomatic pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine.
The announcement said the sanctions targeted those who had voted to recognise the independence of Ukraine’s largely Russian-speaking breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in the run-up to the invasion.
The government had said on Feb. 22 that it would sanction the members of the Duma, and confirmed the process on Friday.
“We’re targeting those complicit in Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and those who support this barbaric war,” British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement.
“We will not let up the pressure and will continue to tighten the screw on the Russian economy through sanctions.”
The listed Duma members will be banned from travelling to Britain, accessing assets held in Britain, or doing business there, the Foreign Office said. The European Union has already sanctioned the same group of lawmakers.
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. read more
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.