Overview
- The UK government, which announced the measures Tuesday, blacklisted 35 people and entities for recruiting foreign migrants into Russia’s war effort and for supplying parts to its drone makers.
- The action is the first use of the UK’s Global Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons regime, a sanctions tool built to hit human smuggling and the weaponisation of migration.
- Targets include recruiters accused of moving people from Africa and the Middle East to fight or to work in weapons plants, with named figures such as Polina Azarnykh and networks linked to Cuba, India and the Middle East.
- The package also strikes Russia’s drone pipeline by naming VT-40 developer Pavel Nikitin, actors tied to the Alabuga drone hub in Tatarstan, and suppliers in China and Thailand including M9 Logistics, Canopus Trading, Tanaq and Sea 2 Sky.
- UK officials said the goal is to cut the flow of parts and people after Russia launched record drone barrages in March 2026, and the move follows tighter export checks and maritime policing in recent weeks.