The UK government has imposed sanctions on Pavel Fradkov, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Defense, Vladimir Selin, the head of the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control, and businessman Artem Chaika. The move is most notable for the fact that Fradkov and Chaika are the sons of figures close to Vladimir Putin himself.
Pavel Fradkov is the youngest son of Mikhail Fradkov, Russia’s former Prime Minister (2004–2007) and Foreign Intelligence Service Director (2007–2016). Artem Chaika is the son of Yury Chaika, Russia’s former Minister of Justice (1999–2006) and Prosecutor General (2006–2020).
“All three of these targets are also on the Navalny 50’ anti-corruption list. The measures come as the Foreign Secretary attends the Munich Security Conference where he will meet Yulia Navalnaya and reflect on Navalny’s enduring legacy,” read a press release by the FCDO and Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
The UK government justified the sanctions by stating that Artem Chaika “benefits from the Russian government,” as he directly or indirectly controls “First Non-Metallic Company (PNK),” which is affiliated with the Russian government and plays a strategic role in the extractives sector. The designation also links him to his father:
“Chaika is an involved person as he is associated with someone who is so involved, namely as the son of Yury Yakovlevich Chaika, who is or has been involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia or destabilising or undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine by working for the Government of Russia as a member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation and by working for the Government of Russia as the Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District.”
A similar rationale was used for the sanctions against Fradkov:
“Fradkov is or has been involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia or destabilising or undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine by working for the Government of Russia as a Minister or Deputy Minister of any Ministry of the Russian Federation, namely as Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Defense.”
Mikhail Fradkov has been under UK sanctions since Dec. 31, 2020, while Yury Chaika has been sanctioned since March 15, 2022 — just over a week before Russia unleashed the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Sanctions have also been placed on Rosatom Additive Technologies and the Kirov-Energomash plant — “two entities linked to Russia’s nuclear energy giant Rosatom, which are supporting Russia’s military activity on the battlefield in Ukraine.”