UK expands sanctions to include Russian generals and media personalities
The UK has hit a further 14 people with sanctions in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, with media personalities and a senior Russian general targeted.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss said the latest tranche of sanctions were aimed at stopping the “torrent of lies” and propaganda coming from the Kremlin about the invasion.
Rossiya TV presenter Sergey Brilev and Russia Today (RT) chief Alexey Nikolov were sanctioned, while RT owner TV-Novosti had its British operating licence revoked.
The owner of Russia’s Sputnik news wire service was also put on the new sanctions list.
Col Gen Mikhail Mizintsev, the officer in charge of the siege of Mariupol in Ukraine’s South-East, was also sanctioned for overseeing a series of alleged war crimes.
“We know that countries can adapt to sanctions over time, so it’s right that we keep moving forwards on this,” Boris Johnson’s spokesperson said.
“It’s equally right to place sanctions on those who are seeking to misinform people on a mass scale, and that is what these sanctions are targeted at.”
In a statement released today, Truss said: “Putin’s war on Ukraine is based on a torrent of lies. Britain has helped lead the world in exposing Kremlin disinformation, and this latest batch of sanctions hits the shameless propagandists who push out Putin’s fake news and narratives.”