UK clamps down on shady networks supplying Putin’s illegal war with new sanctions package

UK announces major new sanctions package choking off Russia’s war effort across multiple fronts. 

From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP and The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP

Published16 June 2026

• UK announces 70 new sanctions targeting Russia’s decrepit shadow fleet, military procurement supply chains and illicit finance networks used to circumvent sanctions.  
• UK ramps up pressure on Russia during G7 Summit following latest abhorrent attacks against Ukraine,  killing innocent civilians and destroying holy sites.
• The UK has now sanctioned almost 500 individuals, entities and ships under its Russia sanctions regime in 2026 alone, as allied support for Ukraine tops the G7 agenda.  

The UK has unleashed a major new sanctions package choking off Russia’s war effort across multiple fronts.  

New action directly targets Russia’s illicit shadow fleet and finance networks used to circumvent Western sanctions and support military procurement.   

Today’s sanctions further crack down on Russia’s decrepit and ageing shadow fleet, targeting more than 20 oil tankers with new and enhanced powers introduced last month. The UK is also tightening the net around those who are suspected of enabling Putin’s illicit oil trade, further sanctioning ship insurers and other shipping services.  

The UK is the first G7 country to sanction several Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) vessels recently acquired by Russia at great expense to service Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project, responsible for exporting millions of tonnes of LNG, in an attempt to source dirty revenue for the Kremlin.    

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

These sanctions target the vessels, the money and the actors propping up Russia’s war economy, and in turn, threatening European security.

Working with our G7 allies, we will continue to increase the pressure in Putin and his circle of collaborators until Russia’s war machine is brought to a halt and peace returns to our continent.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 

As the Kremlin resorts to ever more shady tactics to sustain its war, from its ageing shadow fleet to covert finance networks, the UK remains one step ahead in shutting them down. 

These sanctions strike at the heart of these murky efforts, to starve Putin’s war machine and defend Britain’s security. 

Shoulder to shoulder with our G7 partners, the UK will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.

Those who are suspected of enabling the sale of tankers to Russia’s shadow fleet will be exposed and face action. UK sanctions are greatly limiting Russia’s ability to trade oil – in 2025 the Arctic LNG-2 terminal only exported 1.3 million tons of LNG despite having capacity to export over 13.5 million tons a year.   

To date, the UK has now sanctioned more than 600 shadow fleet and Russian LNG vessels. 

New measures also expose and target a Russian military intelligence (GRU) network centred around GRU front company LLC Neptune Co Ltd (‘Neptune’).

Neptune is involved in covertly procuring western technology for Russia’s military.

Today’s actions target three companies and 10 GRU officers suspected of acquiring military technology that Russia desperately needs to sustain its military aggression in Ukraine.  

Elsewhere, sanctions also hit third country suppliers of critical military equipment to Russia in China, Thailand and Türkiye. Several organisations helping Russia illegally move money, bypassing western sanctions, are also targeted including one entity in Nigeria supporting the illicit finance network A7’s sanctions evasions scheme.

Gathering in Évian-les-Bains, G7 Leaders will discuss their joint determination to tackle the single largest threat to global security – Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.  

As the UK increases pressure on Russia’s war economy, today’s action demonstrates an unshakeable determination to defend security in Ukraine, Europe and at home.