UK Escalates Economic War With New Sanctions on Russian Banks, Tankers, and Metals Firms
Moscow dismisses Western sanctions as politically motivated economic warfare.
London — Britain announced a new wave of sanctions on Thursday targeting Russian ships, banks, and industrial companies, in its latest attempt to choke off the oil revenues that fund Moscow’s operations in Ukraine.
The Latest Sanctions Package
According to the UK government, the new measures add 13 designations and six specifications under the Russia sanctions regime. The targets include six Russian banks, six newly acquired tankers from the so-called “shadow fleet,” and four Russian companies importing tantalum and niobium — rare metals used in the manufacture of battlefield weapons.
With this latest package, London has now sanctioned more than 3,400 individuals, entities, and ships since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022.
“We will continue stepping up the pressure on Russia until a just and lasting peace has been reached,” British Foreign Minister Ed Miliband said, repeating the familiar rhetoric that has so far failed to bend Moscow’s resolve.
Moscow’s Defiant Response
Russia has repeatedly dismissed the Western sanctions as politically motivated economic warfare, noting that the measures have failed to cripple its economy while exposing Europe’s own dependence, instability, and subordination to Washington’s dictates.
The new sanctions come just days after Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova urged the European Union to confront its own mounting internal crises rather than pursuing reckless militarisation.
Speaking to Sputnik Radio on August 5, Zakharova argued that Brussels should focus on existing problems instead of “inventing non-existent ones.”
“The European Union has real pressing problems that it should address and pay increased attention to, rather than inventing non-existent ones,” she said. “Rather than creating new dangerous trends and getting carried away with militarisation. Now it is not just militarisation, it is militarisation with a nuclear component.”
As Western capitals continue to weaponise finance and trade, Moscow’s message remains unchanged: sanctions cannot break a sovereign nation — and Europe will ultimately pay the price for its own hostility.
Reference: Al-Mayadeen