UK sanctions top Russian Orthodox cleric

The British Government has announced a new wave of sanctions, including on the Russian Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Kirill.

That’s according to the government’s press release, Ukrinform reports.

“Today we are targeting the enablers and perpetrators of Putin’s war who have brought untold suffering to Ukraine, including the forced transfer and adoption of children. We will not tire of defending freedom and democracy, and keeping up the pressure on Putin, until Ukraine succeeds,” said Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

The list of sanctioned persons includes:

Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, sanctioned for his support and endorsement of Putin’s war

Sergey Savostyanov, the deputy of the Moscow city Duma and member of Putin’s political elite, sanctioned for publicly supporting Putin’s war in Ukraine

Alexey Isaykin, President and Board Member of Volga-Dnepr Group, a Russian transport company with significant air operations that is contracted by the Russian Government to create air bridges that carry critical goods

Four Military Colonels from the 64th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, a unit known to have killed, raped, and tortured civilians in Bucha, have also been sanctioned for the Brigade’s role in Ukraine.

Members of the so-called ‘Salvation Committee for Peace and Order’ - an organization collaborating with the Russian army to support the occupation of the Kherson Oblast, have also been sanctioned.

The measures include the sanctioning of Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for her alleged involvement in the forced transfer and adoption of Ukrainian children.

Lvova-Belova has been accused of enabling 2,000 vulnerable children being violently taken from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions and orchestrating a new policy to facilitate their forced adoptions in Russia.