UK joins US in sanctioning Moscow stock exchange

On Thursday, the UK introduced numerous new sanctions to hamper Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, including targeting Moscow’s primary stock exchange. This move came a day after the US announced similar measures.

The UK outlined 50 new restrictions as part of a “coordinated action with G7 partners,” coinciding with the Western-led bloc’s leaders’ meeting in Italy. These sanctions aim to impact Russia’s financial system and the suppliers supporting its military production.

Following Washington’s announcement of a series of sanctions on Wednesday, which included measures against the Moscow exchange and several subsidiaries, the stakes were raised for foreign banks still conducting business with Russia.

The significant new financial sanctions, expected to complicate billions of dollars in transactions, led the Moscow exchange to suspend dollar and euro trades on Thursday.

In response to the “aggressive” new US sanctions, Moscow’s foreign ministry promised retaliation.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reiterated the UK’s unwavering support for Ukraine, stating, “Today we are once more ramping up economic pressure through sanctions to bear down on Russia’s ability to fund its war machine,” as G7 leaders gathered for their summit in southern Italy.

Sunak emphasized the importance of curbing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ability to finance a prolonged conflict, stating, “Putin must lose, and cutting off his ability to fund a prolonged conflict is absolutely vital.”

Among the UK’s new sanctions are the first imposed on vessels in Putin’s so-called shadow fleet, which the Kremlin uses to bypass Western restrictions on its oil exports. The sanctions also target suppliers of munitions, machine tools, microelectronics, and logistics to Russia’s military. These suppliers include entities based in China, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey, as well as ships transporting military goods from North Korea to Russia.

Additionally, the UK announced its collaboration with counterparts to devise a mechanism for utilizing the extraordinary profits from immobilized Russian sovereign assets to benefit Ukraine.

The White House indicated that further steps to assist Ukraine using frozen Russian assets would be revealed during the G7 meeting.