UK imposes sanctions on Russian supporters of separatist states in Ukraine

Foreign secretary says measures were response to rocket attacks on civilians in eastern Ukraine

Liz Truss, UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, announces more sanctions against Russian supporters of separatist states in Ukraine. Reuters.

Britain has imposed sanctions on 206 more individuals in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including 178 who it said were involved with the Russian-backed breakaway regions of Ukraine.

The government said the latest sanctions included measures against relatives, close associates and employees of the ultra-rich individuals who have close ties to the Russian government.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Westminster made the announcement “after horrific rocket attacks on civilians in eastern Ukraine”.

She said the 178 individuals had supported the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics in eastern Ukraine.

The sanctions were co-ordinated with the EU, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office said.

Individuals to fall under the latest UK sanctions include Alexander Ananchenko and Sergey Kozlov, who is prime minister and chairman of the government of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. These territories are recognised by Russia.

“We are today sanctioning those who prop up the illegal breakaway regions and are complicit in atrocities against the Ukrainian people,” Mr Truss said. “We will continue to target all those who aid and abet (Russia President Vladimir) Putin’s war.”

A boy rides a bicycle past a house that was damaged by shelling in Andriivka village, not far from Kyiv. EPA

A destroyed residential building in Mariupol, south-eastern Ukraine. Reuters

Firefighters at work on the outskirts of Kharkiv, north-east Ukraine. EPA

A torn Ukrainian flag in front of a ruined Mariupol apartment building. Reuters

Residents who cleared debris after Russian shelling eat lunch outside a damaged building in Makariv, near Kyiv. EPA

Children play with a therapeutic dog at a shelter organised by volunteers in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine. Reuters

A girl stands by the door of a bunker in Severodonetsk, in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, as Russian troops intensify a campaign to take the strategic port city of Mariupol. AFP

A firefighter at work following a missile attack near Kharkiv International Airport. Reuters

A Ukrainian fighter walks in front of a destroyed house in Bohdanivka village, north-east of Kyiv. AFP

Two women hug outside a heavily damaged apartment block following an artillery attack in Kharkiv. Reuters

Ukrainian soldiers guard the village of Barvinkove, as Russia's invasion on Ukraine continues. Reuters

Leonid Serdiuchenko, a Ukrainian commander, stands next to destroyed vehicles outside Barvinkove. Reuters

A woman carries the portrait of Dmytro Stefienko, 32, a civilian killed during the war, during his funeral in Bucha, Ukraine. AP

A Russian soldier collects weapons from inside the Mariupol drama theatre in Ukraine. AFP

Relatives and friends attend the funeral of Andriy Matviychuk, 37, who served as a territorial defence soldier, who was captured and killed by the Russian army in Bucha, Ukraine. AP

Anatoliy Morykin, 45, left, mourns the death of his mother, Valentyna Morykina, 82, who died in a retirement home in Bucha during the Russian invasion. AP

Nadiya, 65, shows a hole in a wall of a building after shelling in Zalissya, Ukraine. EPA

A booby trap found by locals near their home in Zalissya. EPA

Debris of a school bus near a damaged school that was a base for Russian troops in Bohdanivka, Ukraine. EPA

A man examines the debris of a destroyed Russian tank in Bohdanivka. EPA

President Joe Biden speaks to the media before boarding Air Force One at Des Moines International Airport, en route to Washington. AP

Valentina Saroyan sits in the basement of a school in Yahidne, near Chernihiv, Ukraine. AP

Vasyl Cherepenko stands next to a mass grave at a cemetery in Yahidne, near Dnipro, Ukraine. AP

Oksana, second from left, and Yevhen, right, talk with police officers next to their apartment building damaged by shelling in Irpin, Ukraine. AP

Women bid farewell to relatives as they leave the Slovyansk central station in the Donbas region. AFP

The partially destroyed Mariupol drama theatre in Ukraine, hit on March 16 by an air strike. AFP

A man embraces his wife as she prepares to board a train at Slovyansk central station in the Donbas region. AFP

A woman walks through a damaged apartment building after a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP

A missile pierces the road in front of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration building amid Russia's attack on Ukraine. Reuters

A boy walks by unexploded Russian shells in the village of Andriyivka close to Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

Ukrainian tanks move down a street in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

A man walks past a storage place for burned armed vehicles and cars, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

Local residents stand on top of a Russian tank on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

Ukrainian families, who have fled Kherson amid the Russian invasion, watch a dolphin show at a hotel in Odesa, Ukraine. Reuters

Residents stand outside their apartments as shops burn after a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP

Irina Szymanska holds her baby in a temporary shelter at the central train station for displaced people heading to Poland in Lviv, Ukraine. Getty Images

A man walks in his yard, damaged by shelling, in the village of Andriivka, Ukraine. EPA

Sixty-two-year-old Luba hugs a Ukrainian servicewoman in Andriivka. EPA

A woman washes clothes in the yard of a ruined house in Andriivka. EPA

Russian soldiers patrol a street in Volnovakha, in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. The picture was taken during a trip organised by the Russian military. AFP

Russian mine clearers search for explosive objects in a building the Russian authorities say was damaged by Ukrainian shelling. AFP

A woman reads a book as residents find shelter from shelling in a metro station in Kharkiv. Reuters

Firefighters try to contain a fire at a plant in Kharkiv following Russian shelling. Reuters

Farm owner Zlobina Lubov tends to her animals in the village of Malaya Rohan, Ukraine. Reuters

A bathtub is seen inside a building that was heavily damaged by shelling in Kharkiv. Reuters

A man looks out of his window, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Borodianka. Reuters

Soldiers 'came to my house and said go to the basement' Zinaida Makishaiva, 82, said, before they started to shoot around her. 'God saved my life,' she said. Reuters

A mother waits for police officers to exhume the body of her son from a well at a fuel station in Buzova, Kyiv region. According to the head of the village, he was killed by Russian soldiers. Reuters

The UK has sanctioned more than 1,400 individuals and businesses, including 100 oligarchs and their relatives, since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

Ms Truss said that the latest measures would include extending an import ban on Russian goods.

“From tomorrow, we are banning the import of Russian iron and steel, as well as the export of quantum technologies and advanced materials that Putin sorely needs.”

The UK on Friday announced sanctions against the daughters of Mr Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, hitting what it said were the “lavish lifestyles” of the Kremlin's inner circle.

Which oligarchs have been sanctioned?

• Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova, also known as Maria Putina, daughters of Russia President Vladimir Putin.
• Yakaterina Vinokurova, daughter of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
• Roman Abramovich, 55. The Russian-Israeli made his fortune in the post-Soviet years and was close to former Russian president Boris Yeltsin.
• Oleg Deripaska, 54. The industrialist is worth £2 billion and has had close links with the British political establishment. He has a multimillion pound property portfolio in the UK.
• Igor Sechin, 61. Officials described Mr Sechin as Mr Putin's right-hand man and the second most important person in the country.
• Andrey Kostin, 65. The chairman of VTB, a Russian state-owned bank. Mr Kostin is also a member of the supreme council of the United Russia political party and deemed a close associate of Mr Putin who has long supported the Kremlin.
• Alexei Miller, 60. The chief executive of energy company Gazprom, Russia's largest company and the world's biggest public energy supplier.
• Nikolai Tokarev, 71. The president of the Russia state-owned pipeline company Transneft. Mr Tokarev is a former KGB officer who served with Mr Putin in East Germany towards the end of the Cold War.
• Dmitri Lebedev, 53. The businessman and financier serves as chairman of the board of directors of Bank Rossiya, a Russian joint stock bank.
• Kirill Shamalov, 39. He is Russia's youngest billionaire and the ex-husband of Mr Putin's daughter Katerina Tikhonova.
• Pyotr Fradkov, 43. He is head of the sanctioned Promsvyazbank, which finances Russian defence industries, and the son of Mikhail Fradkov, a former prime minister of Russia who was chief of its foreign intelligence service.
• Denis Bortnikov, 47. The deputy president of government-affiliated VTB bank. His father, Alexander Bortnikov, is head of the Federal Security Service.
• Yury Slyusar, 47. The director of United Aircraft Corporation, one of the major defence organisations that has also been sanctioned.
• Elena Georgieva, 45. The chairwoman of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate that finances Rostec.