Britain announced a new package of sanctions against Russia in response to its war against Ukraine, ahead of the official opening of the G7 summit in Japan.
On Friday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a ban on Russian diamonds, an industry whose exports amounted to $4 billion in 2021, as well as imports of copper, aluminum and nickel of Russian origin.
Sunak’s government was also preparing new individual listings – targeting 86 other people and companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
So far, Britain has imposed sanctions on more than 1,500 individuals and entities, frozen more than £18 billion ($22 billion) of Russian assets in the UK, and imposed sanctions on goods trade between the UK, the UK and Russia worth more than £20 billion.
The G7 includes the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Britain, Canada and Japan, which currently holds the rotating presidency.
In another context, the US Department of Defense said on Thursday that the value of US military equipment sent to Ukraine was overestimated by about $3 billion.
The Pentagon said that during the audit, inconsistencies were found in the process of evaluating equipment sent from the United States since the Kremlin’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The statement reveals, “In some cases, ‘replacement cost’ has been used instead of ‘net book value’, thus overestimating the value of equipment withdrawn from US inventories”.
“This overestimation didn’t limit our support to Ukraine, nor did it affect our ability to stream capabilities to the battlefield,” the statement continued.
The total value of US military aid sent to Ukraine since the start of the war has been estimated at $36.9 billion.
It’s now possible to adjust the number to a lower value.
US media reported that staff and members of the US Congress were informed of the amendments on Thursday.
The United States is Ukraine’s most important ally in the defensive struggle against the Russian invasion.
