Britain has imposed new sanctions on two Russian individuals and a Russian entity, citing their involvement in the transfer and use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.
The move is part of the UK's latest efforts to punish Moscow for its ongoing war.
Aleksey Viktorovich Rtishchev, head of Russia's radiological chemical and biological defence troops, and his deputy, Andrei Marchenko, face asset freezes and travel bans.
The British government stated their role in the transfer and use of chemical weapons in Ukraine prompted these measures.
Separately, the Joint Stock Company Federal Scientific and Production Centre Scientific Research Institute of Applied Chemistry has been sanctioned for supplying RG-Vo riot control agent grenades to the Russian military.
These grenades, the government said, have been deployed as a method of warfare against Ukraine, a direct contravention of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
In June, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer promised to keep “tightening the screws” on Russian leader Vladimir Putin as he announced a raft of fresh sanctions on dozens of new Russian finance, military and energy targets.
Two UK residents who have funnelled more than $120m of electronics to Russia through a network of companies were also among those targeted as the government vowed to “starve Putin’s war machine”.
“We know that our sanctions are hitting hard, so while Putin shows total disregard for peace, we will not hesitate to keep tightening the screws,” Sir Keir added.
Those sanctions were aimed at Russia’s finance, military and energy sectors, including Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers, which is illicitly transporting oil to skirt Western restrictions, with 20 additional ships targeted.
The UK also cracked down on those enabling Putin’s illegal oil exports, sanctioning the energy firms Orion Star Group LLC and Valegro LLC-FZ for their role in crewing and managing shadow fleet vessels.
Shadow fleet vessels use of flags of convenience and complex ownership structures to hide the origins of their cargo in a bit to evade Western sanctions.
