US, UK threaten sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine

GBNEWS24DESK//

The United States and Britain are prepared to punish Russian elites close to President Vladimir Putin with asset freezes and travel bans if Russia enters Ukraine, Washington and London said on Monday as tensions also spilled over at the United Nations.

Britain urged Putin to “step back from the brink” after the Russian build-up of troops near Ukraine stoked fears of war, and warned any incursion would trigger sanctions against companies and people close to the Kremlin, reports Reuters.

“The individuals we have identified are in or near the inner circles of the Kremlin and play a role in government decision making or are at a minimum complicit in the Kremlin’s destabilizing behavior,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said planned legislation will give London new powers to target companies linked to the Russian state.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the British warning “very disturbing,” saying it made Britain less attractive to investors and would hurt British companies.

“An attack by a given country on Russian business implies retaliatory measures, and these measures will be formulated based on our interests if necessary,” Peskov said.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, London has become the haven of choice for a river of money from Russia and other former Soviet republics. Transparency advocates have long called on Britain to be tougher about illicit financial flows.