UK officials probe whether local firms violated Russia sanctions with aircraft purchases

The UK government has launched an investigation to establish whether a multi-million-pound purchase of aircraft from Russia broke the UK’s sanctions regime, The Observer reports.

The Department for Business and Trade’s own figures show that the UK imported £80m in Russian goods in the year to June 2025, an increase of 21.2% on the previous year. Nearly half – £36.3m – came from spending on Russian aircraft.

Officials were unable to confirm who had made the purchase or whether it was permissible under the UK’s sanctions regime, which bans the purchase of aviation goods and technology and “goods which generate significant revenues for Russia”.

A British government spokesperson urged companies that believe they have violated trade restrictions to notify the authorities: “Failing to comply with sanctions is an offence punishable through large financial penalties or even criminal prosecution, and we take reports of UK companies not complying with them very seriously. We encourage anyone who believes a company may have breached trade sanctions to report this to the Government.”

By Khagan Isayev