Liz Truss says UK will introduce tougher sanctions on Russia this week
Legislation to allow Britain to hit banks, energy companies and “oligarchs close to the Kremlin” with economic sanctions will be introduced by the government this week, the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has said.
The scheme is the latest attempt by the UK to dissuade the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, from launching an invasion of Ukraine, and was announced hours after Britain said it was willing to deploy more forces to Estonia and other Nato allies in eastern Europe.
“We’re going to be introducing new legislation so that we can hit targets including those who are key to the Kremlin’s continuation and the continuation of the Russian regime,” Truss told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme.
“There will be severe costs on an invasion into Ukraine. And we would target Russian financial institutions, we would target energy companies, we will target oligarchs close to the Kremlin,” she added.
Both the foreign secretary and the prime minister, Boris Johnson, are expected to visit Kyiv early this week, despite the pressure faced by Downing Street over the “partygate” scandal. A redacted version of Sue Gray’s report is expected to emerge on Monday.
Foreign Office sources said Britain’s existing sanctions regime allowed the UK only to target those linked to the destabilisation of Ukraine; the new legislation will permit a wider targeting of the “strategic interests” of the Russian state.
Any legislation will probably have to be sped through parliament as about 100,000 troops are massing in Russia and neighbouring Belarus, creating what Truss described as “a real threat of invasion”.
The government has been accused of allowing Kremlin-linked money to flow easily through the City of London, and in some cases Russia-linked individuals
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