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Sanctions against Russia (February 2022 to January 2025)

Sanctions since 2014

Coordinated sanctions against Russia have been in place since 2014 under various UK sanctions regimes.

The country-specific Russia regime was imposed in a coordinated move by the EU, US, UK and other allies such as Canada in reaction to the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the ongoing destabilisation of Ukraine.

The UK has also sanctioned Russian nationals and entities under other regimes, primarily in response to human rights abuses in Russia, anti-corruption, cyber and chemical weapon attacks. These sanctions are outlined in Library research briefing, Russian sanctions prior to the invasion of Ukraine.

Response to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine

In the build-up to the current crisis in Ukraine, Western allies warned Russia that any breach of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty would be met with unprecedented economic measures. Following Russia’s recognition of independence of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic, and the deployment of Russian troops under the guise of peacekeeping operations, initial sanctions were introduced by the West.

On 24 February 2022, Russian military forces crossed the border into Ukraine and continue to conduct a full-scale assault on the country. The EU, UK, US, and other allies, have responded with significant coordinated sanctions, targeting Russia’s financial sector, aviation and shipping, strategic sectors of the economy such as defence, aerospace and energy, individuals close to the Putin regime and those facilitating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including actors in third countries.

Sanctions are being introduced on a rolling basis and the UK has said “nothing is off the table”. Sanctions continue to target key sources of Russian revenue, while efforts have also become increasingly focused on the prevention of sanctions evasion and the role of third-party enablers internationally.

As of 15 January 2025:

• 1,733 individuals and 382 entities are subject to UK sanctions under the Russia regime (PDF).
• Almost 2,400 individuals and entities are subject to EU sanctions in response to Russian military aggression against Ukraine.

In tandem with trade and financial restrictions, Russia is now the most sanctioned country in the world. Questions remain however, over the effectiveness of those sanctions as Russia has sought alternative markets, trade routes and methods for circumventing Western sanctions, including the use of a ‘shadow fleet’ of tankers, ageing vessels with obscure ownership which are uninsured and often environmentally unsound, to transport sanctioned Russian crude oil.

This briefing provides an overview of the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia between February 2022 and January 2025 by the UK, EU, US and other major allies and partners.

Recent EU and G7 proposals to use the profits from sanctioned Russian assets to fund military support and reconstruction in Ukraine are examined in greater detail in Library research briefing: Sanctions, international law and seizing Russian assets.

Sanctions imposed against third countries considered to be directly supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine is examined in Library research briefing: Sanctions against countries supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine.