Tag: 2025

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 14 February 2025.

New British sanctions target high profile figures working in the Russian Government and supporters of Russian state-owned business.

• UK sanctions several high-profile individuals with links to Putin’s inner circle in latest crackdown on the Kremlin.
• Russia’s war machine further constrained by British sanctions, bolstering UK’s national security and delivering on the Plan for Change.
• Foreign Secretary will also urge partners to act to smash illicit people-smuggling gangs driving irregular migration.

Nearly a year on from the death of Alexei Navalny, the UK has imposed new sanctions against people with links to Putin’s inner circle in a crackdown on the Kremlin.

Today’s sanctions target high-profile figures working in the Russian Government, including Pavel Fradkov, a Russian Defence Minister and Vladimir Selin, who heads up an arm of the Russian Ministry of Defence. They also target Artem Chaika, whose extractives company supports Russian state-owned business.

All three of these targets are also on the Navalny 50’ anti-corruption list. The UK is also sanctioning two entities linked to Russia’s nuclear energy giant Rosatom, which are supporting Russia’s military activity on the battlefield in Ukraine.

The measures come as the Foreign Secretary attends the Munich Security Conference where he will meet Yulia Navalnaya and reflect on Navalny’s enduring legacy.

The UK continues to stand with civil society and human rights defenders working tirelessly to build a better future for Russia despite immense personal risk.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:

I am announcing further sanctions to keep up the pressure on Putin. Ukrainians are fighting for their country’s future and the principle of sovereignty across Europe at the frontline.”

Nearly a year on from the death of Alexei Navalny, I am honoured to meet with Yulia Navalnaya and make clear our commitment to weaken Putin’s attempts to stifle political opposition and crack down on the Kremlin’s corrupt dealings globally.

We are calling on our friends and allies to continue to step up in the face of ongoing Russian aggression.

Last week, the Foreign Secretary visited Kyiv, pushing on with implementation of the 100 Year Partnership with Ukrainian friends. David Lammy will make the case to others in Munich that it is in the collective interests of Ukraine’s partners to stand by them.

The UK-US relationship remains the backbone of the security and prosperity for millions on both sides of the Atlantic, and David Lammy will meet representatives of the new administration to discuss closer working to boost both economies and make our people safer.

The Foreign Secretary will also discuss the situation in the Middle East with a wide range of leaders including Quint partners. He will urge for lasting peace as the current ceasefire in both Gaza and Lebanon hold, and phase two of the negotiations continues.

On Syria, the UK recently announced £3m for deliveries of Ukrainian grain and other food produce to Syria as part of our 100-year partnership. David Lammy will push for a peaceful future for Syria, centred around the interests of the Syrian people.

More Information

Today’s sanctions target 4 individuals and 2 entities including:

• Vladimir Viktorovich SELIN, Head of the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control (FSTEK), a federal service of the Russian government.
• Pavel Mikhailovich FRADKOV, a Deputy Minister of the Russian Ministry of Defence.
• Artem Yuryevich CHAIKA, owner of First Non-Metallic Company Ural (PNK-Ural) which conducts business in the Russian extractives sector, and the son of Yuri Yakovlevich CHAIKA, a member of Russia’s Security Council.
• Joint Stock Company Kirov Energomash Plant and Limited Liability Company Rosatom Additive Technologies, two subsidiaries of Russia’s state-owned civil nuclear energy company Rosastom. As well as operating in Russia’s energy sector both entities are operating in Russia’s defence sector.
• We have also made a variation to the existing designation of Yuri Yakovlevich CHAIKA. He was previously designated in March 2022.

All individuals and entities in this package have been designated for the purposes of an asset freeze and trust services sanctions. All individuals in this package are also be subject to a travel ban. Several individuals have also been designated for the purposes of a transport ban.

The Navalny list is created by the Anti-Corruption Foundation, also known as FBK, a non-profit organisation established in 2011 by Alexei Navalny.

View the full UK Sanctions List and more information on UK sanctions relating to Russia.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 14 February 2025.

His Majesty King Charles III has approved the award of an honorary BEM (British Empire Medal) to Mr Itsushi Tachi for services to people-to-people relations between the UK and Japan.

Mr Tachi was a recipient of a Chevening scholarship which allowed him to complete an MSc in Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the 1980s. Three decades later, he and five other Japanese Chevening alumni decided to form a Chevening alumni association in Japan. Mr Tachi led the preparatory work, and liaison with alumni and the British Embassy, becoming the founding President of the Japan Chevening Alumni Network (JCAN).

Since its foundation in 2016, JCAN has undergone a dramatic expansion in membership, activities and profile, helping to enhance connections between the UK Government and its Chevening alumni, and creating a lasting legacy of people-to-people ties between the UK and Japan.

Footnote:

The Chevening Scholarship is an international scholarship, funded by the FCDO and partner organizations, that enables foreign students to study a Masters degree at universities in the United Kingdom. More information can be found on https://www.chevening.org/

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 14 February 2025.

The Foreign and Defence Secretaries have written a joint Op-Ed in the Daily Telegraph on how to reach a strong and durable peace in Ukraine.

For 20 years, Vladimir Putin has been repeating the mistakes of Russia’s past: by seeking to recreate the Russian empire and suffocate the countries around its borders.

Too often in the past, the West has let him. We did too little in 2008, when he invaded Georgia, and in 2014, when he first went into Ukraine.

When he launched his full-scale attack almost three years ago, he thought it would be more of the same. Putin believed that he would win his war in three days. Yet the Ukrainians continue to fight with huge courage and the support of their friends.

Putin only responds to strength. Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky have both spoken of their desire to achieve “peace through strength”. And the support we give to Ukraine provides the strength to achieve that peace. Ukraine, Britain, Europe and the US all agree.

In Brussels this week, at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group – which we as the UK chaired for the first time – Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, confirmed that, like us, the US wants to see a sovereign, prosperous Ukraine.

Like us, the US wants a lasting peace, after almost three years of war.

Like us, the US recognises the failure of Minsk agreements, deals made from a position of division and weakness.

At the Munich Security Conference this weekend, our message to our allies is the need for us all to continue to unite and show strength.

The Prime Minister has signed a 100-year partnership with Ukraine – a testament to our long-term commitment and confidence in the country’s future. Including the new loans we are giving, which will be repaid using the windfall profits from frozen Russian assets, our support extends to £15 billion.

And we are going farther still: this week, we announced an additional £150 million military package, part of the record £4.5 billion in support we are providing this coming year.

A year on from the death of Alexei Navalny, we are also putting new sanctions on Putin’s inner circle, adding to 2,000 sanctions Britain has already put on Russia.

From opposition and in government, we have been clear that Europe and the UK must do more together to share the burden of our continent’s security.

We were clear we need our friends in Europe to invest more in defence and seize the opportunities of closer UK-EU cooperation.

This has already begun. Europe is united on the need to step up. We are – and we will.

Europe has now committed almost two thirds of all aid to Ukraine, and well over half the military aid. In 2021, the UK and US were two of only six allies meeting Nato’s 2 per cent defence spending target. That number is now 23.

And we all need to turn up the pressure on Russia. Putin’s economy is struggling. Last year, the Kremlin spent more on military aid than social welfare for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Sanctions on energy are a particular priority: the UK has sanctioned more than 100 ships, as well as Gazprom Neft and PJSC Surgutneftegas, two of Russia’s big four oil companies.

While Russia is weakened, it remains undeniably dangerous. Just this weekend, our Royal Navy will track Russian warships passing close to British waters. These ships are retreating from Syria after Putin abandoned his ally Bashar al-Assad, yet they remain armed and full of ammunition. We will be watching their every move.

Ultimately, we need a strong peace. A durable peace. A peace that allows Ukrainians a secure future and deters any future Russian aggression. That is why there must be no talks about Ukraine without Ukraine, and we must give Mr Zelensky the strongest possible hand in those talks.

A bad peace would not only harm our security, but our economies, too: Putin’s 2022 invasion took 1.5 per cent off global GDP and added 3 per cent to European inflation. China, Iran and North Korea are all watching.

A durable peace must be based on new security arrangements: Europe doubling down to do more on our own continent’s security; a continuing, long-term US commitment to its allies through Nato; and British support to the US and allies in the Indo-Pacific – such as through the Aukus security partnership. That is the way to make us all stronger.

On Feb 24, we will mark a grim milestone – three years since Putin’s full-scale invasion. Yet despite all the challenges, Ukrainians are showing astonishing tenacity. Now is the time to turn up the pressure on the Kremlin. With strength and unity, we will prevail.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 February 2025.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Yemen.

I will make three points.

First, the UK strongly condemns the tragic death of a World Food Programme staff member while in Houthi detention and we extend our condolences to their family and colleagues.

We also condemn the recent further detentions of aid workers by the Houthis and we reiterate our clear call for the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained.

These detentions are shrinking the humanitarian operating environment at a time when we continue to see an alarming deterioration in the humanitarian situation.

We call for an end to the Houthis’ use of fear, intimidation and unjustified detention so that aid workers are able to perform their work supporting almost 20 million Yemenis in need of humanitarian assistance.

Second, we welcome the release of the crew of the Galaxy Leader and thank the Sultanate of Oman for their efforts.

While we note the pause in maritime attacks, we must see a permanent end to these attacks to restore freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

As ever, we thank UN Special Envoy Grundberg for his engagement with the parties and his efforts towards peace and long term stability in Yemen.

Finally, President, the UK reiterates our support to the Government of Yemen in delivering governance and providing for its citizens.

This was underlined during our event in New York last month with Prime Minister bin Mubarak. The UK stood alongside 23 other Member States in calling for international and regional support for the Government to strengthen its institutional capacity and help deliver its vision for reform to improve the lives of millions of Yemenis.

The UK and the Government of Yemen will continue to build on this progress together in the months to come.

This is the best way we can support a more secure, stable and prosperous future for all Yemenis.