British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a package of about 100 new sanctions on Russia on Friday during her first visit to Kyiv, saying the measures are intended to increase economic pressure on Moscow as it pursues its offensive in Ukraine.
Cooper, who arrived in Kyiv by rail, said the new measures would target Russia's military and energy sectors and cut off cash flows that London says are being used to finance the war. "The UK will not stand idly by as [Russian President Vladimir] Putin continues his barbaric invasion of Ukraine," she said, adding that international action was "vital" to reduce Moscow's ability to pay for the conflict.
The sanctions target companies that London says supply Russia with components and materials such as electronics, chemicals and explosives used in the manufacture of missiles and other weapons. The package also includes measures against 70 ships that the government described as part of a "shadow fleet" used to illicitly carry cargo since the start of the war.
Cooper was greeted in Kyiv by Ukraine's deputy head of the presidential administration, Andrii Sybiha, who presented her with flowers. The trip, her first international visit since being appointed foreign secretary in a recent government reshuffle, is a show of solidarity amid intensified Russian strikes on Ukrainian territory.
The Foreign Office said the announcement came amid what it characterised as an escalation by Moscow, including an air assault it said involved more than 800 missiles and drones in a single night and strikes that hit a key government building in Kyiv for the first time. On Sunday, the ministry said, Moscow carried out its largest aerial attack of the war, striking the cabinet of ministers building and damaging residential areas.
Cooper is due to visit the damaged government building and residential sites hit in recent attacks, her office said. The Foreign Office also said the UK will pursue the new sanctions while continuing security support to Ukraine and working with international partners, including a so-called Coalition of the Willing, to seek a just and lasting peace.
The announcement followed reports that some Russian-launched drones had violated Polish airspace earlier in the week, prompting NATO members to express concern. The Foreign Office said Moscow's recent strikes also undermined efforts at peace talks it said were being advanced by the United States.
Cooper's statement and the sanctions list did not provide exhaustive operational details about enforcement or immediate financial effects. British officials said the measures are intended to further isolate Russian supply chains and reduce the resources available to sustain Moscow's military campaign. The UK has previously imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Russia since the invasion of Ukraine began, and Friday's package represents the government's latest effort to expand economic pressure on Moscow.