Britain sanctions Salisbury poisoning suspect
A Russian suspect in the Salisbury Novichok poisonings is among those hit by Britain's biggest sanctions package against Russia for 18 months.
The Foreign Office said it had sanctioned 56 bodies and individuals, aiming to hurt Vladimir Putin's war effort and Russia's "malign activity globally".
Among the individuals targeted is Denis Sergeev, the third person facing charges in connection with the 2018 murder attempt on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
Sergeev, who police said was acting under the alias Sergey Fedotov, was one of three Russians alleged to have been GRU military intelligence officers suspected of carrying out the attack. He has been charged in his absence with crimes including attempted murder, conspiracy to murder and causing grievous bodily harm.
Mr Skripal, his daughter Yulia and former police officer Nick Bailey, who were poisoned in Salisbury in March 2018, all survived. Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after being exposed to the nerve agent Novichok, which had been left in a discarded perfume bottle, in nearby Amesbury, Wiltshire.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the sanctions "build on the UK's mission to combat Russian malign activity globally".
The sanctions on individuals include travel restrictions, asset freezes and being locked out of UK finance and trade, while entities based in China, Turkey and Central Asia that are targeted are involved in the supply and production of goods including machine tools, microelectronics and components for drones.
The Foreign Office said the sanctions include suppliers supporting Russia's military production and Russian-backed mercenary groups operating in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The targets included three private mercenary groups operating in Africa, one of which, Africa Corps, is the successor to the Wagner group .
Africa Corps has taken over many of Wagner's operations in Africa since its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, died in a mysterious plane explosion after leading a rebellion against Mr Putin.
The mercenary group is now tightly controlled by the Kremlin and remains a key tool in Russia's efforts to win influence and financing in Africa, by trading security assistance for cash and natural resources.
The Government said the measures were the first direct sanctions against Africa Corps by a G7 country.
Also sanctioned were two other mercenary outfits: the Bear Brigade which has been operating in Burkina Faso and Ukraine, and Espanola, which has recruited heavily from Russia's soccer hooligans.
It comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to attend the European Political Community Summit in Budapest on Thursday, where he is expected to discuss efforts to combat Russian malign activity across Europe and reaffirm the UK's unwavering support for Ukraine .
Announcing the sanctions, Mr Lammy said: "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. And smashing the illicit international networks that Russia has worked so hard to forge.
"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.
"Today's sanctions further build on the UK's mission to combat Russian malign activity globally.
"Over the last month, the UK has directly targeted Russia's illicit shadow fleet, condemned the abhorrent use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine, cracked down on malicious Russian cyber gangs and sanctioned the Kremlin's mouthpieces who recklessly spread Putin's lies across the world."
