Britain sanctions five Russian banks, three high-net worth individuals

Britain on Tuesday slapped sanctions on five Russian banks and three men, including Gennady Timchenko, who have close links to Vladimir Putin after the Kremlin chief ordered the deployment of troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Russia was heading towards "pariah status" and that the world must now brace for the next stage of Putin's plan, saying that the Kremlin was laying the ground for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Britain has threatened to cut off Russian companies' access to U.S. dollars and British pounds, blocking them from raising capital in London and to