UK Imposes Sanctions on Rosatom Subsidiaries Over Nuclear Expansion

The United Kingdom has introduced new sanctions targeting several subsidiaries of the Russian state nuclear energy corporation, Rosatom. The measures are part of what London describes as its largest sanctions package since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022.

The sanctioned entities include JSC "Rosatom Energy Projects" and its head, Andrey Rozhdestvin, as well as the company "Rusatom Overseas Generation" and its engineering firm REIN Engineering. Additionally, "Rusatom Overseas" and its director, Ilya Vergizaev, have been added to the UK's sanctions list.

All these structures are involved in promoting and implementing international projects in the nuclear sphere. JSC "Rosatom Energy Projects" was established in 2022 specifically to market Rosatom's entire energy product portfolio abroad and secure contracts for constructing new facilities.

The British government stated that the companies were included on the sanctions list due to their efforts to expand the construction of Russian nuclear power plants overseas. London believes such projects could generate additional revenue for Russia, partially offsetting declines in oil income.

While Rosatom itself has not been sanctioned under this package and has not commented on the situation, its head, Alexey Likhachev, was previously placed on sanctions lists by both the United States and the United Kingdom.

The broader UK sanctions package also targets Russia's oil sector, banks, and tankers. Notably, it includes "Transneft," which handles approximately 80% of Russian oil exports. Furthermore, 175 companies from the Dubai-registered group 2Rivers have been sanctioned. British authorities consider this group one of the largest operators of a so-called "shadow fleet" and a major trader of Russian oil.