Boris Johnson announces Russia sanctions after troops sent to Ukraine
Last night’s deployment of Russian troops to two regions in eastern Ukraine “amounts to renewed invasion of the country” Downing Street have said, as nations across the West are announcing repercussions.
Mr Johnson said the Russian President is “establishing the pretext for a full-scale offensive” as he warned this could include the capture of the capital Kyiv by the nearly 200,000 troops amassed on Ukraine’s borders.
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Hide AdAnnouncing the immediate sanctions in the House of Commons this afternoon Mr Johnson said Russian banks Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Bank, will be targeted, as well as three “very high net wealth individuals”.
“Any assets they hold in the UK will be frozen, the individuals concerned will be banned from travelling here and we will prohibit all UK individuals and entities from having any dealings with them,” he told MPs.
“This the first tranche, the first barrage, of what we are prepared to do and we hold further sanctions at readiness to be deployed.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the sanctions announced by Boris Johnson and the collective international response, but said “we must be prepared to go further”.
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Hide AdSir Keir said he understands the tactic of holding back sanctions to try to deter an invasion of the rest of Ukraine, “but a threshold has already been breached”.
He said a sovereign nation “has been invaded in a war of aggression”, and “if we do not respond with the full set of sanctions now Putin will once again take away the message that the benefits of aggression outweigh the costs”.
Meanwhile, Russia’s ambassador in the UK Andrei Kelin was summoned to the Foreign Office on Tuesday morning as western figures continue to condemn the Russian actions.