UK hits Vladimir Putin with new sanctions after Poland drone violation

The UK has slapped new sanctions on Vladimir Putin's war machine amid spiralling tensions over Russia's violation of Polish air space.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper warned the Russian despot that Britain would not stand by as he continued his barbaric invasion as she prepared to meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky today. Russian drones were shot down in the early hours of Wednesday morning after crossing into Polish airspace, an unprecedented incursion into Nato territory.

It came in the wake of Moscow's largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the war began, which included a hit on a key government building in Kyiv for the first time. Britain announced 100 new sanctions to turn the screws on Russia's economy, targeting its military sector and illicit shadow fleet, which bankrolls the Kremlin’s illegal war by exporting Russian oil under the radar to avoid Western bans.

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Ms Cooper said: "The UK will not stand idly by as Putin continues his barbaric invasion of Ukraine. His complete disregard for sovereignty has been shown this week when he recklessly sent drones into NATO airspace.

"The security of NATO and Ukraine are crucial to the UK’s security – an integral part of the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change. International action to increase economic pressure on Russia and to cut off critical cash flows which he desperately needs to pay for this illegal war is vital.

"These sanctions form the next stage in the UK’s leading efforts to ramp up economic pressure alongside our security support and our work alongside the Coalition of the Willing for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”

It comes as Russia intensifies its war effort, firing over 800 missiles and drones in a single night. Recent strikes have directly hit the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers building, badly damaged the British Council and EU delegation buildings in Kyiv, and led to an unprecedented violation of NATO airspace over Poland.

The sanctions include 30 entities and individuals supplying key equipment such as electronics, chemicals and explosives to Russia, which are used to manufacture missiles and other weapons systems.

They include companies supplying vital electronics to Putin's army, such as China-based Shenzhen Blue Hat International Trade Co., Ltd., and its two Russian co-owners, Elena Malitckaia and Alexey Malitskiy, and Turkey-based Mastel Makina Ithalat Ihracat Limited Sirketi and its CEO, Azerbaijani national Shanlik Shukurov.

These kinds of components are widely used in Russian weaponry, including the Iskander and Kh-101 missiles and Russian drones deployed against Ukraine. Another 70 ships in Russia's dark fleet have also been sanctioned.

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