UK sanctions Russian lawmakers who supported Ukraine breakaways

The blacklisted Duma members can be banned from travelling to or doing enterprise within the UK and accessing belongings held there.

Legislators attend the primary plenary session of the newly elected state Duma [File: Russia's State Duma/handout/AFP]

The UK has imposed sanctions on 386 members of Russia’s decrease home of parliament who had voted to recognise the independence of Ukraine’s breakaway areas of Luhansk and Donetsk within the run-up to the full-scale invasion.

Friday’s announcement is the most recent in a sequence of punitive measures taken by the UK and different worldwide allies to extend diplomatic strain on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The federal government had stated on February 22 that it will sanction the members of the Duma, and confirmed the method on Friday.

“We’re concentrating on these complicit in Putin’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine and those that help this barbaric struggle,” British International Secretary Liz Truss stated in an announcement.

“We won't let up the strain and can proceed to tighten the screw on the Russian financial system by means of sanctions.”

The listed Duma members can be banned from travelling to the UK, accessing belongings held in Britain or doing enterprise there, the International Workplace stated.

Russian legislators attend a session within the decrease home of parliament [File: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters]

The European Union has already sanctioned the identical group of legislators.

Russia has been pounding Ukraine’s cities whereas its foremost assault drive north of Kyiv has made solely halting progress because the invasion’s early days.

Russia denies that it has attacked Ukraine, however says it's conducting a “particular operation” to disarm and “de-Nazify” Ukraine, which it says goes to plan.

On Thursday, the UK imposed sanctions on seven extra Russian businesspeople, together with Chelsea Soccer Membership proprietor Roman Abramovich, in an try to root out Russian belongings parked in Britain and enhance strain on Putin and his allies.

The UK has rejected criticism from opposition legislators and campaigners that it has been slower than worldwide allies to impose sanctions, and thus given rich Russians time to switch their belongings elsewhere.

However ministers have acknowledged that the prevailing sanctions regime was too cumbersome, and the federal government is passing emergency laws to streamline that course of.