LONDON

Britain on Thursday announced fresh sanctions targeting Russia’s 65 strategic industries, banks, and business elites.

The sanctions target “those aiding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine including the Wagner Group, multiple defence companies and Russian Railways,” a government statement said.

The UK has now “sanctioned over 1,000 individuals and businesses under the Russia sanctions regime since the invasion.”

“These oligarchs, businesses, and hired thugs are complicit in the murder of innocent civilians and it is right that they pay the price,” Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.

“Putin should be under no illusions – we are united with our allies and will keep tightening the screw on the Russian economy to help ensure he fails in Ukraine. There will be no let-up.”

“All those sanctioned today will have their assets in the UK frozen which means no UK citizen or company can do business with them, and individuals subject to travel bans are also prohibited from travelling to or from the UK,” she added.

Today’s sanctions “will bring the total global asset value of the banks the UK has sanctioned since the invasion to £500bn ($658 billion) and the net worth of the oligarchs and family members in excess of £150bn ($197 billion),” she also said.

Truss said: “The government will continue to tighten the screw and use sanctions to degrade the Russian economy on a scale that the Kremlin, or any major economy, has never seen before.”