UK sanctions Chinese firms in clampdown on supplies to Russia

THE UK has imposed sanctions on 10 China-based companies it says are enabling Russia’s defence industry, as part of its largest package of economic measures against Vladimir Putin’s regime since 2022.

The fresh sanctions, which also apply to some firms in Thailand and India, target those who support Russia’s military regime and the supply networks it relies on, the UK’s Foreign Office said. The firms mostly produce and supply machine tools, electronics and dual-use goods for Russia’s military, it said, including microprocessors used in weapons systems.

Russia’s full-scale invasion is entering its fourth year and the sanctions are designed to show Britain is stepping-up support for Ukraine as US President Donald Trump continues to signal his desire to pull-back US aid.

However, it comes as a time when the UK is trying to bolster economic ties with China, after relations soured under the previous Conservative administration. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves visited Beijing last month and Labour ministers have backed a controversial plan for a new Chinese embassy in London. The government is having to balance its drive for economic growth with lingering concerns over Chinese policy – including its support for Putin – as well as the contrast with America’s more confrontational approach to Beijing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with Putin on a phone call on Monday (Feb 24), saying that ties between the two countries have “unique strategic value”.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet Trump in the White House on Thursday in an attempt to persuade him not to rush into negotiations with Russia, particularly without Ukraine’s consent, and to commit US security guarantees to any post-war peace deal. Starmer is under pressure from both Trump and the UK’s own military chiefs to rapidly increase the amount Britain spends on its defence.

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The UK has also sanctioned North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol and other North Korean generals complicit in deploying over 11,000 forces to Russia, as well as Kyrgyzstan-based OJSC Keremet Bank.

The sanctions also target funds going into Putin’s war chest and propping up Russia’s kleptocratic system, the Foreign Office said. Defence Secretary John Healey simultaneously announced the UK would double funding for a programme which supports wounded Ukrainian troops on the frontline.

“As the world marks the grim milestone of Putin’s full-scale invasion entering its fourth year, we cannot and will not turn our backs on Ukraine in their fight for our shared security,” UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said. BLOOMBERG