Britain’s foreign secretary accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of targeting civilians, as the UK announced fresh sanctions against Russia’s oil, crypto and war-financing networks.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (R)and Britain Foreign Minister Ed Miliband (L) speak to the press outside a multi-storey residential building in Pryluky, on October 8, 2026.Photo by SERGII VOLSKYI / AFP
Britain’s foreign minister Ed Miliband on Thursday said Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to win the Ukraine war by “terrorising civilians” as he visited the site of a deadly strike in the war-torn country.Miliband came to Ukraine a day after a Russian missile slammed into a five-storey apartment block in the north of the country, killing 22 people, including five children, as they slept.Speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky next to the destroyed building and piles of rubble at the site of the strike, Miliband said: “There can be no clearer sign of Putin’s evil, evil intent and strategy in this conflict”.”Putin once said that he was going to win on the battlefield. He is trying to win by terrorising civilians,” Miliband said.
He announced fresh sanctions on Russia “on the shadow fleet, on the oil companies, on the crypto, on the financing of the war”.
In London, his ministry announced new UK sanctions on two more Russian oil companies Zarubezhneft and INK Capital, a further 12 oil tankers operating as part of Russia’s shadow fleet, as well as three crypto exchanges and two payment platforms.
The sanctions would also hit “17 entities and individuals involved in the supply of goods deemed by the UK, US and EU to be vital for Russia’s continued war effort”, a statement read.
Last month, Britain announced it was committing £100 million ($135 million) to boost Ukraine’s air defence capabilities, including Patriot missiles, as Kyiv braces itself for another harsh winter of the war.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham visited Ukraine in August on his first foreign trip since entering office in late July, pledging continued support despite what he called “Russia’s outrageous threats to my country”.
AFP
