As Moscow's war on Ukraine continues, the British government ordered a complete asset freeze and travel ban on seven Russian oligarchs on Thursday, including Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

"Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced a full asset freeze and travel ban on seven of Russia's wealthiest and most powerful oligarchs today (Thursday 10 March)," a statement stated. "Their business empires, wealth, and connections are inextricably linked to the Kremlin."

It stated that the oligarchs, who collectively have a net worth of approximately £15 billion ($19.7 billion), were sanctioned "as part of the UK's leading efforts to isolate [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," and that "they are barred from entering the UK and no UK citizen or company may do business with them."

"Among those newly sanctioned by the UK are Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea Football Club and worth more than £9 billion; Oleg Deripaska, a leading industrialist worth £2 billion; and Igor Sechin, CEO of Rosneft."

According to the announcement, another group of Russia-based oligarchs connected to Putin has also been sanctioned.

Other Russian oligarchs sanctioned include Andrey Kostin, chairman of VTB bank; Alexei Miller, CEO of energy business Gazprom; Nikolai Tokarev, President of Russia's state-owned pipeline company Transneft; and Dmitri Lebedev, chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank Rossiya.

"There can be no safe havens for those who backed Putin's barbaric assault on Ukraine," Prime Minister Boris Jonson stated.

"Today's sanctions are the latest manifestation of the UK's unwavering commitment to the Ukrainian people," he continued.

"We will be ruthless in our pursuit of those who enable civilian deaths, hospital destruction, and illegal occupation of sovereign allies."

"Today's sanctions demonstrate once again that oligarchs and kleptocrats belong nowhere in our economy or society," Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.

"With their close ties to Putin, they are complicit in his aggression," she stated.

"Their hands are stained with the blood of the Ukrainian people. They owe it to themselves to hang their heads in shame."

Truss said that they "will not relinquish our mission to ratchet up the pressure on Putin's regime and suffocate his barbaric war machine."

Since the invasion, the UK has sanctioned "more than 200 of Russia's most significant and valuable individuals, entities, and subsidiaries," with over 500 currently included on the UK's sanctions list.

License for Chelsea Football Club

The government stated that it "published a license this morning authorizing the continuation of a number of football-related activities at Chelsea."

The license "allows the club to continue playing matches and engaging in other football-related activity, thereby protecting the Premier League, the wider football pyramid, loyal fans, and other clubs."

"This license will permit only specified acts to guarantee that the designated individual cannot breach UK penalties. The license will be reviewed on a regular basis, and we will collaborate closely with the relevant football authorities."