Australia announced Monday new sanctions against 33 Russian oligarchs and business people. Australia joins Canada, the EU, New Zealand, the UK and the US in imposing further restrictive measures against key Russian individuals.
The new round of sanctions was announced by Australia Minister of Foreign Affairs Marise Payne. In a statement, Payne said the sanctions reinforced Australia’s commitment to sanction Russians of economic and strategic significance, especially Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The move is a part of a coordinated effort by Australia and its allies to support Ukraine in the war against Russia. Since the start of the war, Australia has imposed over 460 sanctions on Russian individuals and entities, including the Central Bank of Russia, Russian Armed Forces, Putin, Putin’s security council and a number of oligarchs.
The latest round of sanctions targets 33 Russian oligarchs, prominent business people and their immediate family members. Among those sanctioned are Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, several CEOs, including Alexey Miller, Nikolay Tokarev and Kirill Dmitriev, and chairs of companies like Dmitri Lebedev, Sergey Chemezov and Igor Shuvalov.
Payne ended her statement by reiterating Australia’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and vowed to continue coordinating penalties against Russia with Australian allies.