Europe

UK opposes EU delisting of 2 Russian oligarchs, calls for continued sanctions, Bloomberg reports

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UK opposes EU delisting of 2 Russian oligarchs, calls for continued sanctions, Bloomberg reports
Andy Burnham, the U.K. prime minister, left, and Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, with British and Ukrainian troops aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth at HM Naval Base in Portsmouth, UK, on July 27, 2026. (Andy Rain/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham told President Volodymyr Zelensky that the U.K. will not follow the EU in lifting sanctions on Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 23, citing sources.

The EU finalized a deal on Sept. 22 to extend sanctions against 3,000 individuals and entities, most of them Russian. The sanctions include travel restrictions and asset freezes, among other economic limitations.

The risk of all 3,000 sanctions expiring stemmed from Slovakia and France delaying the process, which requires a unanimous decision. Latvia pushed back against the delisting of Usmanov and Fridman "until the very end" and described the incident as "unprecedented."

France reportedly backed efforts to delist the two Russian oligarchs from the list after Azerbaijan made it a condition for releasing two French nationals held as prisoners. However, it remains unclear why Azerbaijan tied the prisoner release to this particular demand.

According to Bloomberg, Burnham also told Zelensky in their private meeting during the United Nations General Assembly that Ukraine’s allies must keep sanctions in place against Russia to maintain pressure and help bring the war to an end.

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