Britain on November 7 announced its largest package of Russia sanctions in one year and a half, slapping punitive measures on 56 people and entities linked to Moscow's war machine, including mercenary groups active in Africa and an individual accused of involvement in a 2018 Novichok attack.
The announcement comes as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing to discuss moves to counter Russian malign activities in Europe with other European leaders at a summit in Budapest on November 7 and reaffirm London's ironclad support for Ukraine, the Foreign Office said in a statement.
"Today's action disrupts the supply of vital equipment for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's war machine and bears down on Russian malign activity globally, exposing the corrupt activities of Russian proxy military groups in Africa," the statement said.
Three mercenary groups with links to the Kremlin -- Africa Corps, Bears Brigade, and PMC Espanola -- have been placed under sanctions.
Africa Corps is the successor to the notorious mercenary group Wagner, which under late Putin associate Yevgeny Prigozhin took part in the invasion of Ukraine.
After Prigozhin's death following the group's short-lived mutiny last year, the newly renamed Africa Corps expanded Wagner's operations in Africa, in countries such as Libya, Central African Republic (C.A.R.), Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, where its fighters helped prop up military dictatorships.
"These sanctions will bear down on Russian malign activity in Libya, Mali, and C.A.R., exposing and combatting Russia's illicit activity in Africa, as it attempts to exploit the fragile security environments and natural resources in these countries for its gain and expand the Kremlin’s sphere of influence," the statement said.
Russian military intelligence officer Denis Sergeyev, one of the three Russian operatives British police have charged over the attempted murder of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England, using the nerve agent Novichok, was also placed on the sanctions list.
Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were found unconscious on a bench in a park in the southern English city in March 2018.
British authorities have established that the Skripals had been the targets of an attack by Russia's military intelligence in which Novichok had been applied to the door handle of their home.
The Skripals both survived, but a woman died after coming accidentally into contact with the poisonous agent.
"Sergeyev provided support in the preparation and use of the chemical weapon Novichok in Salisbury...and provided a coordinating role in London on the weekend of the attack," the statement said.
The list also includes 28 entities based in China, Turkey, and Central Asia accused of supplying machinery, microelectronics for drones, and components for the Russian military's war in Ukraine.
"Today’s measures will continue to push back on the Kremlin's corrosive foreign policy, undermining Russia's attempts to foster instability across Africa and disrupting the supply of vital equipment for Putin's war machine," Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.
"Putin is nearly 1,000 days into a war he thought would only take a few. He will fail and I will continue to bear down on the Kremlin and support the Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom," Lammy concluded.