Boris Johnson announced Thursday that his government would impose “the biggest and toughest package of economic sanctions Russia has ever seen” in response to Vladimir Putin’s long-awaited invasion of Ukraine.

It comes after the prime minister appeared at the dispatch box on Tuesday to say the assets of five Russian banks have been frozen, along with three Russian billionaires, who will also be affected by travel bans to the UK.

While the move made Britain’s stance against Moscow clear, opposition MPs, including Labor leader Keir Starmer, argued the moves did not go far enough. Several Conservatives have said as much, but Johnson insisted the UK was “leading” the world in action against President Putin.

Since then, a host of Western allies, including Germany and the United States, have imposed their own sanctions on Russia, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who abandoned the planned Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline to double the flow of Russian gas directly to Russia. your campaign. .

Following President Putin’s decision to launch a full-scale attack on Ukraine, Johnson confirmed that Britain would go further.

As part of the updated measures, the Prime Minister told MPs in the House of Commons that all major Russian banks would have their assets frozen and excluded from the UK financial system. Similar financial sanctions will be extended to Belarus for its role in the assault on Ukraine, Johnson added.

But what exactly does all this mean? Here is everything you need to know.

What are sanctions and how do they work?

In its simplest terms, sanctions are measures imposed on a state, group, or individual as punishment for certain actions.

The three most commonly used sanctions fall into three categories: economic, diplomatic, and military.

When has Britain ever used sanctions?

In 2021, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced a series of measures, for the first time and together with the EU, US and Canada, against four Chinese government officials and a Xinjiang security agency . It arose after human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang.

They had their assets in the UK frozen and were banned from entering the country.

The previous year, Britain imposed sanctions on 49 people and organizations responsible for notorious human rights abuses, including Saudi officials implicated in the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. They too had their assets frozen and were banned from traveling.

One historic occasion in which the UK imposed sanctions on another state was against apartheid South Africa in the 1980s, which Margaret Thatcher initially resisted due to trade links. These sanctions included a ban on tourism and new investment.

You can find a full list of all the people, groups and states that the UK currently has sanctions against at gov.uk site.

What sanctions will the UK impose on Russia?

The prime minister now presented his government’s full list of economic sanctions, saying the war launched by Russia may ultimately require British military support.

He also said that, in concert with the US and the EU, the UK would introduce “new trade restrictions and strict export controls” in a bid to isolate and isolate “the bloody aggressor, President Putin.”

Johnson’s planned sanctions this afternoon include:

He added that legislation to implement these sanctions will be presented to parliament “early next week.”

These measures follow those announced earlier this week, which targeted three oligarchs known to be close allies of President Putin, as well as five Russian banks.

These people are Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg, and Igor Rotenberg, while the banks are Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank, and Black Sea Ban.

The measures against the Russian men and banks include a UK asset freeze, a travel ban and a ban on UK individuals and companies doing business with them.

The FCDO later explained that these banks financed the Russian occupation of Crimea since 2014. It added that sanctions would also be imposed on members of the Russian Duma and the Federation Council who voted to recognize the “independence” of Donetsk, in the hands of the rebels in eastern Ukraine, and Lugansk Regions.

The complete list of government sanctions against Russia can be consulted here.

Following his announcement in the House of Commons, Johnson said the UK “will unite our allies to protect NATO, to show that President Putin will get a tougher Western alliance as a result of his actions.” He added that the events “will show that the Russian president has made a serious miscalculation.”

Concluding his response to the Prime Minister’s update on Ukraine, Sir Keir said: “We know how Putin acts, so we know how to defeat him. He seeks division so we must stick together. He expects inaction, so we have to take a stand. He thinks we’re too corrupt to do the right thing, so we have to prove him wrong.