by William James
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain imposed new sanctions on Thursday on banks, major industrial groups and members of Russia’s elite, including Gazprombank, Alfa Bank and a woman believed to be the daughter-in-law of the trade minister. Foreign Russian Sergei Lavrov.
The sanctions, which target 59 Russian and six Belarusian entities and individuals, relate to state shipping company Sovcomflot, private military contractor Wagner Group and Alrosa, the world’s largest diamond producer.
Britain also targeted Polina Kovaleva, considered the daughter-in-law of Sergei Lavrov. The government said it would own a £4 million property in London. Property records show that she lives in the Kensington neighborhood, which is famous for its parks, high-end shops and museums.
German Gref, the CEO of Russia’s largest bank Sberbank, will also be banned.
“Putin should be under no illusions: we are united with our allies and we will continue to clamp down on the Russian economy should it fail in Ukraine,” Foreign Minister Liz Truss said. “There will be no defeat,” she said.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was the most active anti-Russian leader, but London’s approach would lead to a stalemate.
The sanctions also target the railway and defense company Kronstadt, Russia’s main producer of drones.
Britain said the total assets of sanctioned banks since the invasion of Ukraine were 500 billion pounds ($600 billion) and that oligarchs and their family members had more than 150 billion pounds in total assets. (180 billion euros).
(Report Muviza M, Andrew MacAskill and Jonathan Saul; French edition Federica Milio, edited by Jean-Michel Bellot)
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