Russia-Ukraine crisis: UK slaps more sanctions on Russian banks, individuals

Calling Russian president Vladimir Putin “a bloodstained aggressor, who believes in imperial conquest”, Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday announced a slew of ‘largest ever’ economic sanctions on Russia, including the removal of Russian banks from Britain’s banking system.

The sanctions include a push to end Russia’s use of the Swift international payment systems, freezing assets of all major Russian banks, limiting cash held by Russian nationals in UK banks and sanctioning more than 100 individuals and entities.

Johnson has urged European leaders to agree that Russia’s use of Swift should be suspended, making the argument in a call with the German chancellor Olaf Scholz and in a meeting of G7 leaders.

The necessary legislation for the new round of sanctions intended to “hobble” Russia's economy would be introduced in the House of Commons on Tuesday. It will include a ban on major Russian companies on raising finance on UK markets and to prevent Russia from raising sovereign debt on UK markets.

The sanctions include a freeze on assets of all major Russian banks including VTB, the country’s second largest bank with assets totalling £154 billion; individual sanctions on over 100 individuals, entities and subsidiaries, including Rostec, Russia’s biggest defence company.

The UK, Johnson told MPs, will suspend and prohibit all dual-use export licences to Russia, which covers items that could have civilian or military use. There will also be legislation to prohibit a wide range of high tech exports to Russia, including semi-conductors, aircraft parts such as Rolls Royce jet engines, and oil refinery equipment.

“And to our Ukrainian friends, in this moment of agony, I say that we are with you and we are on your side. Your right to choose your own destiny is a right that the United Kingdom and our allies will always defend”, Johnson added.