The United Kingdom (UK) has imposed fresh sanctions on 35 individuals and entities it accused of supporting Russia’s drone warfare and facilitating the exploitation of vulnerable migrants in connection with the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The measures, in a statement by the British High Commission in Abuja, yesterday, target what the UK described as interconnected networks supplying critical components for Russian drone production and recruiting foreign nationals under deceptive arrangements.

According to the British authorities, the sanctioned actors include individuals and companies involved in human trafficking schemes that allegedly move migrants from multiple countries into Russia’s war infrastructure, where they are either deployed to frontline positions or compelled to work in weapons manufacturing facilities.

The UK said such operations were part of wider efforts sustaining Russia’s military campaign, particularly through the production and deployment of attack drones used in strikes across Ukraine.

It, however, cited Russia’s continued use of unmanned aerial systems in the conflict, noting a sharp escalation in drone attacks in recent months, with March 2026 recording an average of more than 200 drone launches per day.

The UK, therefore, warned that supply chains feeding Russia’s drone programme depend on foreign-sourced components and technical expertise, including links to third countries where individuals and firms have allegedly facilitated procurement and logistics.

The UK government also confirmed that some of the sanctioned entities are based in third countries, including China and Thailand, and are allegedly involved in supplying drone parts and other military-related materials.

In Abuja, the Charge d’Affaires and British Deputy High Commissioner, Mrs Gill Lever, said the sanctions directly address the exploitation of Nigerians and other foreign nationals recruited under false pretences.

MEANWHILE, the Russian government has accused Western countries of deliberately distorting the origins of the Ukraine conflict and rewriting the historical record of the Second World War II.

It warned that such narratives threaten international stability and undermine the foundations of the post-war global order.

The Russian Ambassador to Nigeria, Andrey Podelyshev, made the position known in Abuja on Tuesday during a media briefing marking the 81st anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War, with a focus on what it describes as the genocide of the Soviet people.

Podelyshev said the widely circulated Western narrative that the Ukraine war began in February 2022 with an “unprovoked and aggressive” action by Russia fails to reflect earlier developments that shaped the crisis.

He, however, traced the roots of the conflict to the political upheaval in Ukraine between 2013 and 2014, saying that an agreement between the government and opposition was derailed by what he described as a Western-backed coup.

According to him, guarantor countries failed to uphold the deal, allowing unconstitutional actions to prevail.

The envoy further alleged that policies introduced by the Ukrainian leadership after 2014 marginalised the Russian language and culture, which he said, violated minority rights commitments.