Putin demands UK ‘unfreezes’ Russian assets ‘immediately’ as sanctions hit
Vladimir Putin has demanded the UK and its allies remove sanctions on Russia “without any conditions”, as the economic restrictions placed on the embattled country start to bite. According to the House of Commons library, 1,604 individuals and 228 entities are subject to UK sanctions under the Russia regime. Further, the UK has targeted 130 Russian oligarchs with a net worth of £140 billion.
Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters today: “Britain and other countries that encroached on Russian assets are obliged to unfreeze them immediately without any conditions.
“Otherwise, they violate all the norms and rules of both their domestic legislation and international law”.
In March 2023, the Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force, which is made up of big-hitting global powers such as the US, the UK and Germany, said that they will “redouble” their efforts to make Russian President Vladimir Putin and his associates pay for their war in Ukraine.
REPO is a collaborative organisation between the US, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, the UK and the European Commission and was established in 2022 in order to watch out for sanctions evasion.
Vladimir Putin expected Kyiv to fall within a matter of days, yet the war is now more than a year old. Aside from fierce resistance by the Ukrainians, unprecedented amounts of military equipment and other assistance from Western allies have been crucial.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian economist, Vlad Vlasiuk, has said that western sanctions are now having “unprecedented” negative effects on the Russian economy, with the country now facing a staggering £40 billion budget deficit.
He said: “Sanctions have left a considerable mark on banks and banking systems in Russia.
“For example, VTB Group, which includes VTB Bank, Russia‘s second-largest bank, recorded a loss of 614 billion rubles.”
The adviser to President Zelensky added: “Most of Russia‘s banks need partners outside the country, such as Iran, to facilitate transactions, a process that significantly increases costs.
“Furthermore, the Russian government has implemented legislative changes restricting the ability of banks to do transactions, particularly for military personnel.”
Such is the economic devastation being inflicted by the sanctions, Russian airline projects are reportedly in no state to present to buyers.
Head of Rostransnadzor, which oversees the Russian transport network, Viktor Basargin, reportedly told a Russian parliamentary committee meeting that sanctions has meant that essential safety equipment on domestic aircraft cannot be replaced.
According to the Kommersant newspaper, Mr Basargin said: “Several hundred unscheduled inspections of airlines…showed that companies operating western equipment have a shortage of components, problems with the supply of consumables.”
These comments come off the back of reports that Russia’s biggest airline, Aeroflot, has instructed its staff not to report missing or broken safety equipment.
In a statement, Aeroflot said: “All spare parts undergo strict incoming control for compliance with quality requirements, history of origin, and have the necessary certificates.”
