London Imposes Sanctions on Russia: What Are They?

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that London is imposing sanctions on five Russian banks in response to Russia's recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DNR and LNR). The sanctions will also affect businessmen Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, as well as Gennady Timchenko. This was reported by Kommersant.

“Today, the United Kingdom is applying sanctions against the following five Russian banks: ‘Rossiya’, ‘IS-Bank’, ‘Genbank’, ‘Promsvyazbank’, and ‘Black Sea Development Bank’, and we are imposing sanctions against three very wealthy individuals,” Johnson said in parliament (quoted by Reuters).

These three Russian billionaires are close associates of Vladimir Putin.

“The West has not been mistaken in its forecasts, and the events of the last 24 hours confirm this,” stated the British government leader, adding, “The West has given Putin the opportunity to resolve the situation through diplomatic means, but Russia has not taken advantage of this.”

The European Commission, for its part, has also released a statement regarding the forthcoming sanctions against Russia. Brussels notes that the restrictions will be applied to those who participated in the recognition of the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Luhansk.

Moreover, the European Union will impose sanctions on the banks that finance military operations in Eastern Ukraine. Measures will also be taken against the Russian state financial sector to curb Moscow's “aggressive policies” and trade in the two self-proclaimed republics.