The UK has announced the imposition of a number of new sanctions “to curb production of Russian drones and the nefarious networks that are exploiting vulnerable migrants from across the globe to support Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.”
In total, 35 individuals and entities have been sanctioned, including:
- Pavel Nikitin, whose company develops the Russian VT-40 drone, a low-cost, mass-produced attack drone widely used by Russia in its attacks on Ukraine. The drone is named after the war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky (real name Maxim Fomin), who was killed in an explosion on April 2, 2023, at a cafe-bar owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin;
- Polina Aleksandrovna Azarnykh, “who, backed by the Russian state, has been facilitating the travel of individuals from countries including Egypt, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Morocco, Syria and Yemen through Russia to Ukraine,” where they are deployed with minimal training and in terrible conditions on the front lines;
- Eltech Component LLC, based in St. Petersburg (INN 7810540857). The company’s main founders are Dmitry Tormashev (69%) and Andrey Kharabazhau (21%). The company’s website states that a large number of components (with over 10,000 items available) are stored in a central warehouse in St. Petersburg, allowing for quick order fulfillment;
- Faisal Abdul Muttallib Khan, an Indian blogger who operates a YouTube channel under the pseudonym Baba Vlogs. According to media reports, the blogger has been promising unsuspecting individuals high-paying jobs in non-combat positions in the Russian military.
