Following Russia's full-scale invasion, Western governments issued a slew of sanctions against oligarchs. But to what end? What's been achieved, and what happens next?

Over the past decade, the UK has grappled with its reputation as 'Londongrad': a home for oligarchs – most often from Russia – to park and enjoy their money. Successive governments resisted calls for action against these individuals, whether the calls came from civil society, opposition MPs or European ambassadors in London. Even following the Salisbury poisonings in 2018, the oligarch community remained untouched.

That all changed in February 2022 when the UK government's resistance to sanctioning oligarchs crumbled in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Accommodating Russians and their money in London become indefensible.

In this latest episode of the STR podcast, CFS Director Tom Keatinge is joined by expert oligarch watchers Michael O'Kane, a partner at Peters & Peters, and Natalia Kubesch, Legal Director at REDRESS.

Four years since the Johnson/Truss government finally pulled the trigger on oligarch sanctions, one basic question remains unresolved: what is actually meant to happen to these sanctioned individuals — and, perhaps more importantly, to their frozen assets?

Marking four years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we examine how EU sanctions have evolved, expanded and intensified enforcement.

As we mark the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, this episode explores how EU sanctions on Russia have evolved from an emergency political response into the most extensive and technically sophisticated sanctions regime in the EU's history.

Kinga Redłowska, Head of CFS at RUSI Europe, speaks with Brice De Schietere, Head of the Sanctions Division at the European External Action Service (EEAS), about how EU sanctions are designed, negotiated and implemented. The conversation examines the objectives behind restrictive measures, including targeting Russia's energy revenues, restricting access to critical technologies, countering sanctions circumvention and addressing the Russian shadow fleet. They also discuss enforcement challenges, coordination with G7 partners and the UK, the role of third countries and the growing use of autonomous EU sanctions regimes.

Four years on, EU sanctions are no longer merely about signalling unity. They are about constraining Russia's war effort, increasing economic pressure and shaping Europe's broader security toolkit. As the war continues, the question is not whether the EU has sanctions instruments at its disposal, but how effectively it uses them in support of Ukraine's peace and security.

As the UK brings forward new electoral legislation, what should the government do about crypto donations, and does it really understand the risks?

Discussion about cryptocurrencies is often polarised. Nowhere is this more so the case than in the ongoing discussion about the inclusion – or not – of cryptocurrency for donations to political parties in the UK.

In this latest episode of the STR podcast, host Tom Keatinge is joined by Eliza Lockhart, a Research Fellow in our CFS team leading our work on Cryptocurrencies in UK Politics which examines the risk of opaque, foreign or malign influence entering UK politics via cryptocurrency donations; and James Gillespie, a CFS Associate Fellow, formerly of HM Treasury, to reflect on where the real threats from crypto to electoral integrity lie, and what to do about them.