The U.K.
on Friday announced newsanctions against almost a dozen senior Russian officials and the country's election commission over "sham" elections held in occupiedUkrainian territory this month and last year.The move takes the number of individuals and entities sanctioned by Britain in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine nearly 20 months ago to more than 1,600.London said it was targeting the 11 officials and electoral organization after they "alldirectly acted to undermine Ukraine and threaten its territorial integrity" in the condemned referendums and elections staged last October and earlier this month.Russia's CentralElection Commission (CEC), which organized them, and Natalya Budarina, one of itsmost senior officials, were among those sanctioned, the U.K.
added.AndreiAleksyenko, head of what Russia now claims as the Kherson regional administration, and Marina Zakharova, head of its election commission, were also penalized.All those targeted face foreign asset freezes and travel restrictions.Moscow held what London calls"falsified and illegitimate sham referendums" last October in several seized Ukrainian regions, including Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.They then held further votes there and in Crimea which Russiaannexed from Ukraine in 2014 which ended on Sept.
10.The Kremlin claims it won local backing to annex the four eastern and southern Ukrainian territories in the ballots last year, despite not having full military control over the regions.It also says the United Russia party, which backs President Vladimir Putin, won this month's dubious elections.The votes have been dismissed by Ukraine and its Western allies as sham contests, and Kyiv's forces are fighting to claw back the seized territory."Russia's shamelectionsare a transparent, futile attempt to legitimizeitsillegal control ofsovereignUkrainianterritory," British Foreign Secretary James Cleverlysaid in a statement announcing the latest sanctions."Youcan'thold'elections'in someone else's country," he said.
"The U.K.
will never recognize Russia's claims toUkrainian territory Crimea, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson are Ukraine."United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken also criticized the "sham elections" earlier this month, warning that "any individuals" involved in facilitating them "may be subject to sanctions and visa restrictions."The European Union also told Russia this month that there would be "consequences" for those involved in staging the votes.The bloc has already imposed 11 rounds of sanctions against Moscow since February 2022.