The UK targeted several Kyrgyz financial systems and crypto networks reportedly used by Russia to evade sanctions on Wednesday.
UK Sanctions Minister Stephen Doughty said the sanctions would help maintain the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin as the US and Ukraine’s European allies push for peace talks.
“If the Kremlin thinks they can hide their desperate attempts to soften the blow of our sanctions by laundering transactions through dodgy crypto networks – they are sorely mistaken,” Doughty said.
Eight companies and individuals have been hit with the new sanctions, including the Kyrgyz-based Capital Bank (along with its director, Kantemir Chalbayev), which Russia has reportedly used to pay for military goods.
The move comes days after the US renewed sanctions against Garantex, a Russian crypto exchange that processed more than $60 billion after its initial blacklisting in 2022. The US also introduced further sanctions against some of its partner companies in Kyrgyzstan.
According to the UK government statement, this new round of US and UK sanctions demonstrates the two countries’ “shared commitment to crack down on sanctions circumvention.”
However, a new report from the US Senate Banking and Foreign Relations Committees recently alleged that the Trump administration is failing to effectively use sanctions and export controls to bring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to an end.
Despite the efforts of Ukraine’s allies, Russia is still believed to be funneling money through third countries to maintain access to Western markets.
US exports to countries including Turkey, Kazakhstan and the UAE increased dramatically after sanctions were implemented – a potential sign of Russian sanctions-busting.
On July 2, as per The Times of Central Asia, Russia and Kyrgyzstan “reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation” at a meeting between Putin and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov.
Earlier this month, Radio Free Liberty reported that Russia is recruiting Kyrgyz children as young as 14 to produce combat drones used in Russian strikes on Ukraine.
The children are reportedly sent to Russia as part of a “vocational school program” at the Alabuga Polytechnic in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan.
The drone manufacturing plants in Alabuga had been the targets of Ukrainian forces in the past, including once in April 2025.