Israel-based firm among entities sanctioned by UK for aiding ‘Putin’s war machine’

LONDON — Britain has announced new sanctions designed to degrade Russia’s ability to wage war in Ukraine, targeting entities based in China, Israel, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey, as well as the Russian energy industry.

The sanctions announced at the G7 summit apply to 50 companies and individuals involved in supplying munitions, machine tools, microelectronics, and logistics to the Russian military, together with ships transporting military goods from North Korea to Russia.

A British government statement about the “crack down on Putin’s war machine” names the Israel-based firm as Texel, which has also been blacklisted by the US Treasury Department for having “supplied a Russian company with electro-optic and infrared devices following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”

Britain also says it’s targeting the “shadow fleet” of ships used to circumvent G7 sanctions on the Russia oil and natural gas industry. The UK Foreign Office says this is particularly important because taxes on oil production accounted for 31% of the Russian government’s revenue last year.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says in a statement that the UK “will always stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in its fight for freedom.’’

Sunak adds that Russian President Vladimir Putin “must lose, and cutting off his ability to fund a prolonged conflict is absolutely vital.”