BORIS OUTLINES LARGEST AND MOST SEVERE SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA AFTER UKRAINE INVASION

Prime Minister Boris Johnson stood in Parliament and declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin will 'Stand Condemned' in the eyes of the world and of history as he outlined 'the most savage and severe' sanctions against Russia.

Amongst those sanctions was a ban on Russian airline Aeroflot which had earlier in the day seen an end to a £40m sponsorship deal with Manchester United. The company will not longer see it's fleet welcomed in UK airspace.

There were also asset freezes on a number of Russian banks and over 100 individuals with financial links to the regime. 

Trade and export bans were put into effect on a wide range of tech equipment and the PM announced an intention to sever the ability of Russian banks to access the SWIFT payment system based out of Belgium which handles payment requests and messages between 11,000 financial institutions across the world, delivering 42 million messages per day in 2021.

Also targeted were a number of Russian defence companies such as Rostec which exports over £10bn of arms annually.

PM Johnson said that sanctions would also be placed upon five of Putin's closest allies within his inner circle.

Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss said:

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We are inflicting devastating economic pain on Putin and Russia following its unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Today’s unprecedented package of sanctions decisively delivers the highest economic cost we have ever imposed on the Kremlin.

 

Stating clearly that Russia is now an international pariah on the world stage.

Other countries have followed suit with their own economic sanctions put into place, with most notably Germany pulling the plug on the Nord 2 pipeline between Russia and Europe.

Mr Johnson called on an end to European reliance on Russian oil and gas exports, saying:

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"Our mission is clear. Diplomatically, politically, economically, and eventually, militarily, this hideous and barbaric venture of Vladimir Putin must end in failure."

Heavy Russian bombing continues this evening with reports that Chernobyl is now in the hands of their troops, it is unclear if any damage to the integrity of the reactor cover has occurred with shells falling close-by.

The PM concluded his speech by re-iterating that the UK stood with the Ukraine in its moment of 'agony'.