UK announces new sanctions for Russia and Belarus

The UK has announced a new package of sanctions on Russia and Belarus, targeting £1.7bn of trade.

The penalties, outlined by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, involve import tariffs and export bans.

It will bring the total value of products subject to import and export sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine to more than £4bn.

President Vladimir Putin's "barbaric war must be stopped", said Mr Sunak.

New import tariffs will cover goods worth £1.4bn, including platinum and palladium, "hampering Putin's ability to fund his war effort", the Department for International Trade (DIT) said.

Planned export bans are intended to impact more than £250m worth of goods in the parts of the Russian economy most dependent on UK goods, targeting key materials such as chemicals, plastics, rubber and machinery, it added.

Ms Trevelyan explained: "We are determined to do our utmost to thwart Putin's aims in Ukraine and undermine his illegal invasion, which has seen barbaric acts perpetrated against the Ukrainian people.

"This far-reaching package of sanctions will inflict further damage on the Russian war machine."

Mr Sunak added: "Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine is causing suffering on an enormous scale. His barbaric war must be stopped."

He said the new import and export sanctions would do "significant damage to Putin's war effort".

This third round of trade sanctions announced by the UK government - excluding gold and energy - would see more than 96% of goods imports from Russia hit by restrictions and more than 60% of goods exports to Russia under whole or partial restrictions, said the DIT.

The department said a further £1.4bn of imports would also face an "additional 35 percentage point tariff", adding that legislation would "be laid in due course" to implement these measures.

The latest move comes as Russia prepares to celebrate Victory Day, the commemoration of the Soviet Victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, which will be marked with the annual military parade in Moscow's Red Square. The war in Ukraine means this year's event has taken on different significance, with Vladimir Putin's expected speech likely to be closely analysed and thousands of troops due to parade despite many forces being deployed in Ukraine.

Western countries have introduced increasingly widespread sanctions against Russia - targeting individuals, banks, businesses and major state-owned enterprises, and exports, among others. Among the high-profile individuals to be targeted has been Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club.

The UK has excluded key Russian banks from the UK financial system, frozen the assets of all Russian banks, barred Russian firms from borrowing money, and placed limits on deposits Russians can make at UK banks. Other sanctions have been implemented by the US and the EU.

Belarus has been targeted with the UK government saying its leader Alexander Lukashenko had aided and abetted Russia's invasion.