UK bans Russian firms from using British accountants

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss reveals more sanctions to ‘hit those behind Putin’s vicious disinformation campaign’

Russian troops fire a rocket launcher during fighting in Mariupol, Ukraine. Britain has imposed another series of sanctions on Russian people and groups. Reuters

The British government has escalated its efforts to cut the Russian economy off from outside resources by barring Moscow’s access to the UK’s management, consulting, accounting and PR services.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss unveiled a further round of sanctions on Wednesday, this time on Russian businesses that rely on UK companies.

The announcement brings the number of Russian entities and people linked to President Vladimir Putin to be sanctioned by the UK since the invasion of Ukraine to more than 1,600. Russia last week imposed sanctions on 287 British MPs.

As the Russian war in Ukraine approaches the 10-week mark, No 10 Downing Street announced more sanctions to “hit those behind Putin’s vicious disinformation campaign” including state-controlled media outlets RT and Sputnik.

The UK government says Russia is “heavily reliant” on service companies in western countries, and cutting these off would account for 10 per cent of Russian imports in the sectors affected.

“Doing business with Putin’s regime is morally bankrupt and helps fund a war machine that is causing untold suffering across Ukraine,” Ms Truss said. “Cutting Russia’s access to British services will put more pressure on the Kremlin and ultimately help ensure Putin fails in Ukraine.”

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  Family members mourn at the graveside of soldier Yuri Varyanytsia during the burial of three soldiers in the Field of Mars at Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine. Getty Images

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  A pedestrian takes a picture as she walks past the wreckage of a Russian armoured vehicle outside the National Museum of Military History of Ukraine in Kyiv. AFP

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  A man rides his bicycle over a heavily damaged bridge near Pechenegi village in the Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP

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  Pro-Russian troops fire from a tank near the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Reuters

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  Workers sew uniforms and material for flack jackets at a military clothing factory in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images

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  A dog provides company at a flat damaged by a missile attack in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

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  Patron, a dog trained by Ukrainian forces to sniff out explosives, near Kyiv. EPA

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  Lone skater Roman Kovalenko, 18, amid the damage at Peace Square in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. All of his friends have fled. AFP

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  A Ukrainian sapper carries unexploded materiel during demining works at an airport in the town of Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. AFP

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  Shelling of the Azovstal steel plant complex in Mariupol. Reuters

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  Violinist Irene Duval rehearses before a fundraiser to support Ukrainians arriving in the UK, at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London. PA

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  A serviceman stands guard at the destroyed Ukrainian Antonov An-225 'Mriya' cargo aircraft in Hostomel. AFP

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  Galina Malets falls to her knees before the funeral service for her brother, fallen soldier Igor Malets, 59, in Lviv. Getty

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  Explosions at the Azovstal steel plant in besieged Mariupol, where Ukrainian forces continue to hold out against Russian invaders. AFP

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  A Ukrainian woman collects her belongings after her apartment was damaged by a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

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  An apartment block damaged by a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

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  Devastation around an apartment block hit by a missile in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

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  Ukrainian men at the site of a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

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  An elderly refugee from Avdiivka, eastern Ukraine, at a lunch provided by church group Awakening in Pokrovsk. AFP

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  Natalia Rudneva, 59, was injured in overnight shelling in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, that put her son in hospital. AP

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  Shocked occupants of an apartment building in Kramatorsk, Donbas, that was destroyed by overnight shelling . AP

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  A man outside his house in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine. The sign reads 'Bomb shelter, children'. AP

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  A woman passes Donetsk People's Republic militia tanks in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine. AP

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  A refugee camp outside Mariupol, in territory controlled by the government of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic. AP

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  The damaged St Godmothers Cover Church next to a bullet-riddled Ukrainian flag in Malyn, Ukraine. Getty Images

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  St Godmothers Cover Church, in Malyn, Ukraine. Getty Images

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  The ruins of an apartment building in Borodianka, Ukraine. Getty Images

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  Firefighters from the self-declared Donetsk People Republic Emergency Situations Ministry battle a blaze at an oil depot after missiles struck the facility in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Makiivka, 15 kilometres east of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. AP

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  People wait for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to begin a speech televised on a screen in City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark. Reuters

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  An aerial view of the destroyed Hotel Ukraine in the northern city of Chernigiv. AFP

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  A woman who recently lost her husband arrives with her dog at a charity centre in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

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  A family of Ukrainian evacuees near a donation collection point in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Reuters

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  The ruins of a residential building in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv, which was heavily damaged during the Russian invasion. AFP

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  People pay their respects during the funeral for Ukrainian serviceman Ruslan Borovyk in St Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv. AP

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  Crew chiefs and engineers with the 158th Fighter Wing meet before launching F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation aircraft at the Vermont Air National Guard Base, South Burlington, US. More than 200 Vermont air guard personnel, plus equipment and eight F-35s, are now in Europe. AP

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  Svitlana, 36, holds her sons Artem, 7, and Kyrylo, 5, while sheltering in a kindergarten in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images

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  Men report to enlist in Ukrainian Territorial Defence Force units in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images

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  A burning oil storage unit on the outskirts of Donetsk, Ukraine. Reuters

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  Russian MiG-29SMT jet fighters, forming the symbol Z in support of Russian military action in Ukraine, fly over Red Square in Moscow during a rehearsal for the Second World War Victory Parade on May 9, 2022. AFP

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  A warehouse after shelling in Severodonetsk, as fighting rages across Ukraine's east after a US warning that Moscow is preparing to formally annex eastern regions. AFP

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  Katya, 11, waits for her mother's treatment to end at the Severodonetsk Hospital in Severodonetsk. AFP

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  Antonina, 60, at a funeral home where she works and now lives with neighbours in Severodonetsk. AFP

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  A Russian serviceman patrols a street near the sea port of Berdyansk, Ukraine. AFP

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  A woman during the rally in front of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office in Kyiv. AFP

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  Svitlana Karpenko, 53, at what is left of her house in Sloboda, Chernihiv region, Ukraine. She said it was destroyed by shelling. Reuters

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  The turret from a destroyed Russian tank stuck in the ground in Zalissia, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters

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  Lyubov Lenko, 61, in front of her house in Budy, Chernihiv region, Ukraine, that she says was destroyed by shelling. Reuters

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  Nina Stefuryak, 2, playing in a park in front of a building destroyed by shelling in Borodianka, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters

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  Mealtime at a centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia. AP

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  Volunteers assist a man after his arrival from Mariupol at a centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia. AP

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  People disembark a van to be registered by police after arriving in Zaporizhzhia. Getty Images

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  Firefighters damp down the ashes of a fire that destroyed a children's play area in Gorky Park in Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA

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  A woman touches a piano as she inspects the damage in a classroom after shelling at Kharkiv National Kotlyarevsky University of Arts. EPA

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  US President Joe Biden and Lockheed Martin chief executive Jim Taiclet with Javelin anti-tank missile assembly workers during a tour of a Lockheed Martin weapons factory in Troy, Alabama, US. Reuters

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  Residents collect humanitarian aid in Borodyanka, Ukraine. Getty Images

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said UK services were “extraordinarily valuable” to many nations and freezing Moscow out of the picture increases “economic pressure on the Kremlin to change course”.

Ms Truss revealed 63 new sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes for people linked to Russian broadcasters and newspapers. They also include sanctions against mainstream media organisations.

Those who appear on the latest list include employees of Channel One, a major state-owned television channel in Russia, which had described the invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation”.

The government has also imposed sanctions on war correspondents embedded with Russian forces in Ukraine, including: Evgeny Poddubny, who works for the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company; Alexander Kots, reporting for Russian daily tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda; and Dmitry Steshin, a journalist and special correspondent for the same newspaper.

Organisations including All Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting will also face sanctions.

Other media companies sanctioned include: InfoRos, a news agency spreading “destabilising disinformation about Ukraine”; SouthFront, a disinformation website; and the Strategic Culture Foundation, an online journal spreading disinformation about the invasion.

New legislation will, meanwhile, require social media companies to take action to block content from what the UK government says are two of Russia’s major sources of disinformation, RT and Sputnik.

"For too long RT and Sputnik have churned out dangerous nonsense dressed up as serious news to justify Putin’s invasion of Ukraine," said Chris Philp, the UK’s tech and digital economy minister.

“These outlets have already been booted off the airwaves in Britain and we've barred anyone from doing business with them. Now we’ve moved to pull the plug on their websites, social media accounts and apps to further stop the spread of their lies."

Britain’s Defence Minister Ben Wallace on Wednesday visited Finland to watch UK troops take part in a joint military exercise with their Finnish counterparts.

The defence ministers of Finland and Britain, Antti Kaikkonen (L) and Ben Wallace, attend a news conference after watching joint military exercises in Finland on Wednesday. Reuters

Speaking at a press conference alongside Antti Kaikkonen, Finland’s Defence Minister, he stressed the need for co-operation as Helsinki considers a bid for Nato membership.

Mr Kaikkonen said Moscow’s assault on Ukraine had “changed the attitudes of Finnish people and also the decision-makers here” when it came to potentially joining the transatlantic military alliance.

He said the Finnish Parliament was debating the issue, with the government “pretty close” to reaching a conclusion, which is expected in the coming weeks.

The Finnish defence minister acknowledged Russia’s opposition to any Nato expansions.

“Russia has said on the one hand it is Finland’s own decision [to join Nato], but on the other hand has also said that there would be some kind of reaction,” he told reporters. “Well, that is something which will be seen in the future if we decided to apply for the membership in Nato.”

Mr Wallace reiterated his Finnish counterpart’s comments on how quick the accession process may go if Finland wishes to join Nato, saying: “It’s really about the 30 [Nato members] and the speed of ratification”.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg last week said if Finland and Sweden wanted to join the alliance, the accession process could “go very quickly”.

Sweden is also considering whether to request membership of Nato.