LONDON — The British government has announced sweeping new sanctions on dozens of firms supplying military equipment to Russia in an effort to signal the country’s continued support for Ukraine.
The U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Wednesday announced 46 sanctions on individuals and groups supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including businesses in Belarus, China, Serbia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.
The announcement came as Foreign Secretary David Cameron was expected to reaffirm the U.K.’s support for Ukraine during a visit to Washington, where he will unveil a £29 million humanitarian response package for the war-torn country.
“Today’s sanctions will hit Putin where it hurts, damaging Russian defence systems, and cracking down on illegal supply chains propping up Russia’s war machine,” Sanctions Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said.
“Working alongside our G7 partners and international allies we will continue to ratchet up pressure on Putin and crack down on third parties providing restricted goods and technology to Russia, wherever they may be.”
Among the firms targeted is AVIO CHEM, a Serbian company which has sent shipments of aircraft parts to Russian entities, and the Turkish company Smart Trading Limited, which is involved in the supply of sanctioned western electronics to Russia.
Three Chinese firms — Asia Pacific Links Limited, Sinno Electronics Co., Limited, and Xinghua Co. Limited — have also been targeted for supplying sanctioned goods.
Meanwhile, 31 Russian weapons manufacturers and defense importers have been hit by the sanctions, as well as three supporters of the Russian-backed private military company Wagner Group and four operators of “shadow” vessels circumventing restrictions on Russian oil sales.
In addition to the sanctions, the National Crime Agency has issued an advisory to banks and other firms urging them to report suspicious activity and sanctions breaches.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join a virtual meeting with G7 leaders on Wednesday.