Britain continues to follow US lead on sanctions, imposes penalties on Putin’s daughters

Britain has again followed the lead of the US, announcing the imposition of sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin's daughters as well as on the daughter of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Following the Russian military campaign in Ukraine, the US, Britain and other Western allies have imposed several rounds of sanctions targeting Moscow's wealthy elites, key industries and its access to the international financial system.

Britain on Friday announced asset freezes on Putin's daughters Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova, and Sergeyevna Vinokurova, the daughter of Lavrov.

Earlier this week, the US sanctioned all three of them.

"Our unprecedented package of sanctions is hitting the elite and their families, while degrading the Russian economy on a scale Russia hasn’t seen since the fall of the Soviet Union," British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement.

Asked for a comment, New York-based journalist Don DeBar said simply "Monkey see, monkey do."

“It's clear that, to the extent the Empire still has a functioning brain, it is situated in Washington - or Langley - and not in London. The UK's foreign policy is essentially the same as policy announced first by the Biden Administration,” he stated.

London has also imposed an asset freeze on Russia's largest bank and an end to all new investment into the country, the government has announced.

The asset freezes will apply against Sberbank — Russia’s largest bank — in coordination with the United States' sanctions, and the Credit Bank of Moscow, according to The Independent. 

Western countries have slapped unprecedented sanctions on Russia since President Vladimir Putin declared a military offensive against Ukraine on February 24.

The new measures were proposed after Ukrainian troops began showing journalists corpses of what they say are civilians killed by Russian forces in Bucha and other towns near Kiev.

Von der Leyen accused Moscow of “waging a cruel, ruthless war, also against Ukraine's civilian population,” saying that the bloc needed “to sustain utmost pressure at this critical point.”

UK announces new sanctions targeting Russian state media

The United Kingdom has announced a new set of sanctions targeting Russian state media, ratcheting up the US-led offensive against Moscow over the Russian military campaign in Ukraine.

Russia denied any civilian killings, saying that the images were fakes produced by Ukrainian forces or that the deaths occurred after Russian soldiers pulled out of the areas.

"It is a simply a well-directed but tragic show," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "It is a forgery aimed at denigrating the Russian army.  And it will not work."

He also said that the Kremlin urged "the international community: detach yourself from such emotional perceptions and think with your head. Compare the facts and understand what a monstrous forgery we are dealing with."

The Biden administration has imposed harsh economic and banking sanctions on Russia in response to Russia's military actions in Ukraine.

Biden said the sanctions would limit Russia's ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen.

The US president claimed that the only other alternative to the sanctions would be to start a “Third World War.”

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