Boris Johnson has announced sanctions against five Russian banks and three billionaires, after Russia ordered troops into eastern Ukraine.
The PM said Russia’s actions amounted to a “renewed invasion” of the country, parts of which were illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
He told MPs the UK must now “steel ourselves for a protracted crisis”.
He added the “first barrage” of sanctions would be extended if the situation escalated further.
He said the three Russian individuals sanctioned would have their UK assets frozen and be prevented from travelling to the UK.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into two rebel-held regions of Donetsk and Luhansk on Monday, after recognising them as independent.
President Putin said the troops would be “peacekeeping” in the breakaway regions – a claim dismissed by the United States as “nonsense”.
Mr Johnson accused the Russian President of denying Ukraine’s statehood and “establishing the pretext for a full-scale offensive”.
In his statement to MPs, he said the UK would be targeting Russian banks Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Bank.
The three individuals hit by sanctions are Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg, and Igor Rotenberg, he added.
Mr Johnson also welcomed Germany’s decision to announce it would suspend certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Russia.
The EU has published its own set of sanctions proposals which include targeting members of the Russian parliament and banks financing Russia’s military.
Mr Johnson’s announcement comes as the US President Joe Biden signed an executive order that prohibits new investment, trade and financing by Americans in the breakaway regions.
ANALYSIS
Why were these banks and individuals identified as key targets for sanctions?
Government sources have pointed to the billionaire status of the three individuals – and how they are all key allies to President Putin, with Boris Rotenburg being a childhood friend of his.
He’s worth $1.2bn, his nephew Igor is worth $1.1bn, and Timchenko is the sixth richest man in Russia.
Hitting the banks is intended to have a wider knock-on impact on the Russian economy and government. Sources say Promyzaz, for example, handles 70% of the state contracts of the Russian Ministry of Defence.
The prime minister’s made it clear, however, that this is just the first tranche of sanctions and more could come if President Putin escalates this into a “full scale war of aggression”.
Mr Johnson will chair another Cobra meeting later and speak to the French President Emmanuel Macron.
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Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the sanctions but said the UK “must be prepared to go further”.
He called for Russia to be excluded from the SWIFT payment system, the banning of trading in Russian sovereign debt and action to prevent Russia “broadcasting its propaganda around the world”, a reference to the RT news channel.
Sir Keir said he understood the government wanted to delay introducing some sanctions as a tactic to deter a Russian invasion of the rest of Ukraine, but said: “If we do not respond with the full set of sanctions now Putin will once again take away the message that the benefits of aggression outweigh the costs.”
Senior Labour MP Margaret Hodge said there were “serious flaws” in the new sanctions regime and expressed concern it would not affect “oligarchs close to Putin who do not hold an official position in a company”.
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey were among MPs who welcomed the sanctions announced but also urged the prime minister to go further.
Mr Johnson later said he thought further sanctions were “inevitable” given the situation in Ukraine.
Russia’s ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin was told his country would “pay the price for its actions” after he was summoned to the Foreign Office.
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