- Deputy Prime Minister of Russian Federation and officials
behind the forced mobilisation of citizens in Russia sanctioned
- Arkady Gostev, Director of the Federal Penitentiary Service
of the Russian Federation, also sanctioned for supporting the
recruitment of prisoners into Wagner Group
- The UK has now sanctioned over 1,200 individuals and over 120
entities in response to Putin’s war in Ukraine
The Foreign Secretary has today (Wednesday 30 November) announced
a new package of 22 sanctions targeting the officials who have
promoted and enforced the conscription of citizens to fight in
Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.
This includes the Deputy Prime Minister Denis Valentinovich
Manturov, who is responsible for overseeing the Russian weapons
industry and responsible for equipping mobilised troops.
10 governors and regional heads have also been sanctioned. This
includes the heads of Dagestan, Ingushetia and Kalmykia – some of
Russia’s poorest ethnic republics, from which a significant
number of conscripts have been drawn. In July, the UK sanctioned
29 regional governors for their role in providing financial
support to Russian proxy administrations in Ukraine.
Foreign Secretary said:
“The Russian regime’s decision to partially mobilise Russian
citizens was a desperate attempt to overwhelm the valiant
Ukrainians defending their territory. It has failed.”
“Today we have sanctioned individuals who have enforced this
conscription, sending thousands of Russian citizens to fight in
Putin’s illegal and abhorrent war.”
“The UK will continue to use both sanctions and military aid
to support Ukraine in the defence of their
independence.”
Arkady Gostev, Director of the Federal Penitentiary Service of
the Russian Federation and Dmitry Bezrukikh, the head of the
Federal Punishment Service of the Rostov region, have also been
sanctioned.
Bezrukikh and Gostev have reportedly worked closely with oligarch
Yevgeny Prigozhin, ally of Putin and head of the Wagner Group, to
fill the ranks of the mercenary gang that is supporting Russia’s
army in Ukraine.
They have drafted criminals, including murderers and sex
offenders, in exchange for pardons from President Putin –
resulting in Bezrukikh’s region being dubbed ‘The Wagner Group
recruitment hub’.
Also sanctioned today are Ella Pamfilova, chairperson of the
Central Election Commission and AndreyBurov, head of the regional
election commission in Rostov, who were both responsible for
organising the sham referendums in the four temporarily occupied
areas of Ukraine. Pamfilova has since actively supported Russia’s
forced mobilisation.
The UK has continued to support Ukraine through delivering vital
military equipment, as well as implementing targeted sanctions to
undermine the Russian war machine.
The UK has committed over £2.3 billion in military aid to
Ukraine, including most recently a package including 25
anti-aircraft guns and technology to counter deadly
Iranian-supplied drones.
UK sanctions are also having a significant impact on Russia’s
ability to maintain their war machine. Technology imports have
forced them to mobilise Soviet-era tanks and use semiconductors
from kitchen appliances to restock equipment. Recent Defence
Intelligence has shown that Russia is likely removing nuclear
warheads from ageing cruise missiles, and using them in Ukraine,
as a desperate attempt to maintain their assault.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Asset freeze - An asset freeze prevents any UK
citizen, or any business in the UK, from dealing with any funds
or economic resources which are owned, held or controlled by the
designated person. UK financial sanctions apply to all persons
within the territory and territorial sea of the UK and to all UK
persons, wherever they are in the world. It also prevents funds
or economic resources being provided to or for the benefit of the
designated person.
Travel ban - A travel ban means that the
designated person must be refused leave to enter or to remain in
the United Kingdom, providing the individual is an excluded
person under section 8B of the Immigration Act 1971.
Transport sanctions - Recently introduced powers
make it a criminal offence for any Russian aircraft to fly or
land in the UK and give the government powers to remove aircraft
belonging to designated Russian individuals and entities from the
UK aircraft register, even if the sanctioned individual is not on
board. Russian ships are also banned from UK ports.
Denis Valentinovich Manturov is Deputy
Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and he is responsible
for overseeing the Russian weapons industry. Manturov is shoring
up the wider defence sector against the impact of international
sanctions by equipping Russian conscripts drafted to fight
in Ukraine.
Ella Pamfilova is the Chairperson of the Central
Election Commission (CEC) of the Russian Federation, which is the
organisation responsible for arranging elections and referendums
in Russia. The CEC was tasked with assisting in the illegal
referendums held in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,
Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk in September.
Arkady Alexandrovich Gostev is the Director of
the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation.
Through his role, he is supporting the Wagner Group to recruit
prisoners from across Russia to serve as mercenaries.
