More Russians sanctioned including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's London-based step-daughter

More sanctions have been issued in a bid to starve Putin of finance, including his foreign minister's step daughter Polina Kovaleva. Credit: AP/Instragram, Polina Kovaleva

The UK has sanctioned 65 more Russian individuals and entities including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's London-based step daughter and the paramilitary Wagner Group, which is seen as Vladimir Putin's private army.

Others sanctioned included six more Russian banks, multiple defence companies and Russian Railways.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “These oligarchs, businesses and hired thugs are complicit in the murder of innocent civilians and it is right that they pay the price.

"Putin should be under no illusions – we are united with our allies and will keep tightening the screw on the Russian economy to help ensure he fails in Ukraine. There will be no let-up."

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The Wagner Group is a Russian organisation which has reportedly been tasked with assassinating Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Another notable name added to the sanctions list is Polina Kovaleva, Foreign Minister Lavrov's daughter, who reportedly owns a £4 million property in London along with an art empire.

She is the daughter of Svetlana Polyakova, who is said to be the mistress of Mr Lavrov.

The government said Ms Kovaleva was being sanctioned to send a "strong signal that those benefiting from association of those responsible for Russian aggression are in scope of our sanctions".

Russian investigative journalist Maria Pevchikh says Ms Kovaleva Instagram feed looked "like a non-stop holiday", before she closed her account.

All those sanctioned will be banned from entering or leaving the UK and will have their UK assets frozen.

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Boris Johnson, speaking to broadcasters in Brussels ahead of a NATO emergency summit, said: “Vladimir Putin is plainly determined to double down on his path of violence and aggression.”

Describing Mr Putin’s treatment of Ukrainians as “absolutely brutal”, he added: “We’ve got to step up. We’ve got to increase our support.

“We’ve got to tighten the economic vice around Putin, sanctioning more people today, as we are, sanctioning the Wagner Group, looking at what we can do to stop Putin using his gold reserves, and also doing more to help the Ukrainians defend themselves.”

Ten key Russian individuals and businesses sanctioned today:

  • Alfa-Bank JSC - the largest of the private banks in Russia is based in Moscow. Alfa-Bank JSC ranks among the top 10 largest banks in terms of capital in Russia and Ukraine. It is a distinct entity to Alfa-Bank (Ukraine) which has not been sanctioned.

  • Alrosa - the world’s largest diamond mining company specialising in exploration, mining, manufacture, and sale of diamonds. It is headquartered in Mirny, Russia and its market capitalisation is reported as an estimated £4.69 billion.

  • Eugene Markovich Shvidler - is a billionaire businessman with close business links to Roman Abramovich, who himself was sanctioned by the UK on March 10, 2022. His net worth is reported as an estimated £1.2 billion.

  • Oleg Tinkov - founder of Tinkoff Bank. His net worth is reported as an estimated £3.4 billion.

  • Herman Gref - Chief Executive Officer of Sberbank, the largest Russian bank. Gref is a close advisor of President Putin since they started working together in the St Petersburg government in the 1990s. He served as Putin’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade between 2000 and 2007, before taking over at Sberbank.

  • Oleg E Aksyutin - the Deputy Chair of the Management Board at Gazprom PJSC, the Russian multinational energy corporation.  

  • Didier Casimiro - the First Vice President of Rosneft, the Russian State oil company.

  • Zeljko Runje - the Deputy Chair of the Management Board and First Vice President for Oil, Gas, and Offshore Business Development of Rosneft

  • Galina Danilchenko - installed as ‘mayor’ of Melitopol by Russian authorities after their military occupied the city and kidnapped the legitimate mayor. This is the first designation by any partner country for collaboration with the Russian military in Ukraine since the invasion.  

  • Polina Kovaleva - stepdaughter of Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov. She reportedly owns a £4 million property in London. This sends a strong signal that those benefiting from association to those responsible for Russian aggression are in scope of UK sanctions.