UK ups Russia sanctions to bring 'war machine to halt': Starmer

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a press conference upon the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine in France on January 6, 2026. [AFP]

The UK is imposing a raft of new sanctions against Russia, including on tankers that transport LNG, in a bid to pressure Moscow into halting the war against Ukraine, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced as a special G7 summit session got underway Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is attending the summit of seven leading world powers in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains, with allies looking to tilt the balance in Kyiv's favour after over four years of war and intensify pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Working with our G7 allies, we will continue to increase the pressure on Putin and his circle of collaborators until Russia's war machine is brought to a halt and peace returns to our continent," said Starmer.

The talks are taking place after a Russian barrage of missiles and drones early Monday killed at least 11 people across Ukraine and sparked a fire at one of the most important Orthodox monasteries in the capital.

Seventy new sanctions actions "will choke Russia's war effort across multiple fronts" by targeting Russia's illicit "shadow fleet," military procurement supply chain and finance networks used to circumvent sanctions, Starmer's office said.

The actions against the so-called "shadow fleet" -- used by Russia to transport energy and other assets under a different flag -- target more than 20 oil tankers.

Starmer's office said the United Kingdom is now the first G7 country to sanction several Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) vessels recently acquired by Russia to service an already sanctioned Arctic LNG project.

The British premier -- under pressure at home after his defence minister resigned in a row over military spending last week -- is to tell leaders at the session that "the G7 should collectively go further to ensure Ukraine secures the just and lasting peace it deserves".

Starmer's office also announced a deal to send enriched uranium to fuel Ukrainian nuclear power stations which would "power Ukraine for the next two years".

Some £210 million ($282 million) worth of export finance will allow the UK-based Urenco to supply enriched uranium to Ukraine's nuclear power producer, Energoatom, it said.