Russia cut off from UK services

• Foreign Secretary to cut off Russia’s access to the UK’s management consulting, accounting and PR services.
• Further sanctions will also hit those behind Putin’s vicious disinformation campaign, including RT and Sputnik online.
• The UK has now sanctioned over 1600 individuals and entities.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is today (Wednesday 4 May) announcing a ban on services exports to Russia, cutting them off from doing business with UK sectors that are critical to the Russian economy.

The new measures will mean Russia’s businesses can no longer benefit from the UK’s world class accountancy, management consultancy, and PR services, which account for 10% of Russian imports in these sectors.

Russia is heavily reliant on Western services companies for the production and export of manufactured goods, and today’s measures will further ratchet up economic pressure on Putin’s siege economy.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said:

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

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said:

“Our professional services exports are extraordinarily valuable to many countries, which is exactly why we’re locking Russia out. By restricting Russia’s access to our world-class management consultants, accountants and PR firms, we’re ratcheting up economic pressure on the Kremlin to change course.”

Following the publication this week of UK-funded research exposing the Kremlin’s shadowy troll factory tactics, the Foreign Secretary has also announced 63 new sanctions, many of which hit actors and organisations from mainstream media organisations with asset freezes and travel bans.

This is bolstered by new legislation now in force which means social media, internet services and app store companies must take action to block content from two of Russia’s major sources of disinformation, RT and Sputnik.

Tech and Digital Economy Minister Chris Philp said:

"For too long RT and Sputnik have churned out dangerous nonsense dressed up as serious news to justify Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

“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."

Those sanctioned today includes significant individuals at Channel One, a major state-owned outlet in Russia. Channel One is known for spreading disinformation in Russia, justifying Putin’s illegal invasion as a ‘Special Military Operation’. Those sanctioned include war correspondents who are embedded with Russian forces in Ukraine: 

• Evgeny Poddubny, a war correspondent for the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company 
• Alexander Kots, a war correspondent for Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda
• Dmitry Steshin, a Russian journalist and special correspondent for Komsomolskaya Pravda

  Other strategic propaganda organisations sanctioned include: 

• All‑Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting, a major state-owned broadcaster that has played a key role in justifying Putin’s aggression against Ukraine.
• InfoRos, a news agency spreading destabilising disinformation about Ukraine and is alleged to have links to Russian intelligence agencies.
• SouthFront, a disinformation site that has spread false information that seeks to justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine.   
• The Strategic Culture Foundation, an online journal spreading disinformation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including the role of Russian forces in the killing of civilians in Bucha.

The UK will continue to work closely with social media platforms and allies to uncover, expose, and counter the Kremlin’s disinformation operation. 

Alongside previous asset freezes against media outlets already in place the UK is systematically shutting out Putin’s propaganda machine.

ENDS

BACKGROUND

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.   

Internet Services Sanctions            

When an individual or organisation is sanctioned with this measure, social media services must take reasonable steps to prevent their content from being uploaded, shared, or accessible on the service in the UK. Internet access services must take reasonable steps to prevent users of the service in the UK from accessing websites provided by the sanctioned individual or organisation.  Application stores must take reasonable steps to prevent users of the application store in the UK from accessing an application provided by a sanctioned individual or organisation. 

Notable individuals and entities sanctioned

• Dmitry Vladimirovich Gusev, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Sovcombank. Sovcombank has already been sanctioned by the UK, EU and US for its strategic role in the Russian economy, and strategic significance to the Government of Russia. The US has already sanctioned Gusev for being a senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors, at Sovcombank. Gusev is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
• Mikhail Mikhaylovich Zadornov, Chairman of the Management Board of Otkritie FC Bank. Otkritie has already been sanctioned by the UK, EU and US for its strategic role in the Russian economy, and strategic significance to the Government of Russia. The US has already sanctioned Zadornov for being a senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors, at Otkritie. Zadornov is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
• Kamaz, a Russian transport company and manufacturer of trucks and buses, including for the Russian military. Australia has already sanctioned Kamaz for engaging in activity or performing a function that is of economic or strategic significance to Russia. On 6 April, the UK designated Sergey Kogogin, Director General of Kamaz. Kamaz is subject to an asset freeze.
• Nikolay Pankov, Russian Deputy Minister of Defence. Australia has already sanctioned Pankov for being responsible for, or complicit in, the threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine by formulating and executing security-related policies and providing weapons and strategic advice.  Pankov is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
• Brian McDonald, Head of Russia Desk for the English language edition of RT (formerly Russia Today). RT is a subsidiary of TV-Novosti. RT obtains a benefit from or supports the Government of Russia as it is carrying on business as a Government of Russia affiliated entity, and/or in the Russian information, communications and digital technologies sector, which is a sector of strategic significance to the Government of Russia. McDonald is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
• Aleksandr Shkolnik, Director at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War and Chairman of the Presidium of the Foundation for Strategic Initiatives of the Victory Museum in Russia. He has used his position as the head of a significant national cultural institution to spread disinformation, including supporting and promoting the Government of Russia’s false narrative that the invasion of Ukraine is an exercise of “de-Nazification”. Shkolnik is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
• Maksim Oreshkin, Chair of the Board of Directors at Channel One, as well as an aide to President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. Channel One is a television channel controlled by the Government of Russia. Oreshkin is subject to an asset freeze.
• Mikhail Leontyev, is the presenter of the Odnaki television show on Channel One, a television channel controlled by the Government of Russia.Leontyev has claimed that the Ukrainian state is built on Nazism and that Ukraine is developing biological weapons with the support of the United States, echoing Kremlin disinformation. Leontyev is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
• Nailya Asker-Zade is a television journalist and interviewer at the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK) and widely understood to be in a long-term relationship with Andrei Kostin, Chairman of VTB Bank. As such, she is associated with and obtains financial and other material benefits from two entities (VGTRK and Kostin), each of which is or has been involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia by carrying on business as a Government of Russia-affiliated entity. Asker-Zade is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
• Evgeny Poddubny, a war correspondent for the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company. Through his dissemination of Kremlin propaganda, Poddubny has provided support for and promoted Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Poddubny is therefore an involved person who provides support for or promotes policies or actions which destabilise Ukraine or undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine. Poddubny is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
• Alexander Kots, a Russian journalist and special correspondent for Komsomolskaya Pravda (KP). Through his reporting with KP since Russia invaded Ukraine, KOTS has promoted and supported the actions of the Russian army in invading Ukraine, and has actively sought to legitimise the justifications that the Russian government has provided for the invasion. He is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
• The All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK) is a Russian unitary state enterprise and broadcaster of federal and regional television and radio. The group includes Russia’s state-owned television and radio channels such as Rossiya 1, Rossiya-24, Vesti FM and Radio Russia and form a central part of the Kremlin’s disinformation apparatus. As a state-owned company, VGTRK is involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia by carrying on business as a Government of Russia-affiliated entity. VGTRK is subject to an asset freeze.
• SCF (Strategic Culture Foundation) is an online media organisation which spreads disinformation. It has provided support for and promoted actions and policies which destabilise Ukraine or undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine. SCF is subject to an asset freeze.
• SouthFront is a disinformation site that has spread false information that seeks to justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine and therefore providessupport for and promotes actions and policies which destabilise Ukraine or undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine. SouthFront is subject to an asset freeze.
• InfoRos is an online news agency which spreads disinformation. It has provided support for and promoted actions and policies which destabilise Ukraine or undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine.InfoRos is subject to an asset freeze.