Overview
- The UK imposed sanctions on 35 people and entities for recruiting vulnerable migrants for Russia’s war and for supplying parts to its drone factories.
- Britain used its Global Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons regime for the first time to hit networks involved in human trafficking tied to the conflict.
- The package names Polina Alexandrovna Azarnykh, accused of moving recruits from countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Morocco, Syria, Yemen and Côte d’Ivoire to the front or into weapons plants, including the Alabuga Start drone program.
- Those designated also include Pavel Nikitin, linked to the mass‑produced VT‑40 attack drone, and suppliers in Thailand and China that provide key components to Russia.
- Officials say the goal is to cut the parts pipeline and hold enablers to account as Russia’s drone strikes reached more than 200 launches per day in March and were expected to climb in April.