Britain’s Russia sanctions are underwhelming

The sanctions that Boris Johnson has just announced in response to Russia’s breach of international law are fairly underwhelming. Five banks are being hit, three rich individuals and those members of the Duma who voted to unilaterally recognise the breakaway republics. They will not make Moscow take notice in the way that the decision end certification of Nord Stream 2 has.

Johnson’s defence of the limited nature of these sanctions is that they are the ‘first tranche’ and the UK needs to hold things back to try and deter Russia from further action. But given that the UK, rightly, considers what Russia is up to an invasion of Ukraine, these sanctions are nowhere near robust enough. The three oligarchs hit have been on the US sanctions list since 2018.

To date, the UK has responded impressively to the Ukraine crisis. It has called for the cancellation of Nord Stream 2, it has reinforced Nato’s eastern flank and sent lethal aid to Ukraine.