UK announces largest sanctions package against Russia since start of full-scale invasion

LONDON — Britain has announced the largest package of sanctions against Russia since the early days of the Ukraine war to mark four years since the full-scale invasion.

The U.K. government on Tuesday targeted dozens of companies and individuals across Russia’s military, energy and banking sectors as Western countries attempt to pile pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war economy.

The list includes nuclear and gas companies, and banks processing cross-border payments that help Russia avoid existing U.K. sanctions.

Britain is also targeting Russia’s shadow fleet — oil tankers used to evade sanctions which have been surveilled, intercepted and boarded by the U.K. and its allies. It is sanctioning 48 vessels and 175 companies in Russia’s “2Rivers” illicit oil network — a move the U.K. Foreign Office said will send a “clear” message that “Russian oil is off the market.”

U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is in Kyiv Monday to mark the anniversary of the invasion.

She said: “The UK has today taken decisive action to disrupt the critical financing, military equipment and revenue streams that sustain Russia’s aggression, in our largest raft of measures since the early months of the invasion.”