UK Sanctions Networks Recruiting Migrants for Russia’s War

The British government has announced new sanctions against 35 individuals and entities it says are involved in recruiting vulnerable migrants to fight for Russia and in producing drones used in the war in Ukraine.

Seventeen individuals and entities have been placed on the Foreign Office sanctions list under a regime targeting irregular migration. According to London, the networks organize the movement of people with the aim of deploying them on the front line as “cannon fodder”.

A further 18 individuals and entities have been added under sanctions against Russia. They are linked to a program that British authorities say uses deceptive practices to recruit workers, mainly from Cameroon, to manufacture drones.

Sanctions minister Stephen Doughty described the exploitation of vulnerable people to support Russia’s war as barbaric. He said the measures were intended to disrupt both smuggling networks and supply chains providing illegal components to Russian drone factories.

(reuters, bak)