Government information regarding Ukraine 

We are tracking the latest government information and advice regarding Ukraine. Members will no doubt be aware that the UK Government has announced sanctions against Russia. This page is intending to signpost relevant Government information, but it should not be regarded as legal advice. For detailed information please visit the Gov.uk site or consult a legal advisor. 

Update: 16 December 2022 – advertising services

The Government has announced via a Statutory Instrument that, from 00.01 16 December 2022, it will prohibit the export of advertising services, alongside some other professional services, to Russia.

As the industry’s trade body, we fully support these measures, as well as the decision of many companies who have already ceased trading with Russia.

Companies will be breaking the law if they export advertising and marketing services to Russia or to persons connected to Russia once the legislation comes into force, with limited exceptions.

You can find the Government’s September press release here and the updated regulations and guidance here. The AA’s information piece is here.

Update: 30 September 2022 – advertising services

The Government has announced further sanctions of exports of certain goods and services to Russia, following Russia’s illegal annexation of four regions in Ukraine. The new sanctions aim to add further economic pressures in Russia by targeting vulnerabilities and disrupting crucial supply chains.

Among these new sanctions are restrictions on UK exports of advertising services to Russia. We strongly encourage any advertising and marketing businesses providing services to Russia to take note of this announcement so to avoid being in breach of these new sanctions.

You can find the Government’s press release here and the AA’s statement here.

Update: 1 August 2022 – professional services including PR

Additional regulations have been published on 21 July putting into place sanctions related to Professional and Business Services trade with Russian companies or Russian individuals. The relevant section of the regulations is section 54C. The Regulations prohibits the direct or indirect provision of specific services, including public relation services, to any person connected with Russia.

The sanctions, aimed at cutting off Russian imports of key services, apply to three specific categories of professional business services, namely: consulting, PR and accounting. The original announcement of these sanctions was in May. It will mean that UK companies will no longer be able to provide such services to any Russians, be it in Russia or the UK.

Guidance relating to the consulting, PR and accounting sanctions is available here.

A licence can be granted by the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU), sat within the Department for International Trade, to provide services which are prohibited by regulation 54C. However, these can only currently be granted for certain activities.

The type of service for which a license can be granted include:

• The production or distribution of food, medical and pharmaceutical products for the benefit of the civilian population;
• Civil society activities that deliver humanitarian assistance and human rights advocacy;
• Services to a person connected with Russia by a UK parent company or UK subsidiary of that parent company;
• It can also apply to non-Russian business customers looking to close down business operations in Russia.

For more information on sanctions against Russia, please see the research briefing document.

Trade updates and sanctions 

Most of the sanctions are related to financial transaction, however there are some restrictions which are directly relevant to advertising and marketing businesses. For example, any service provision connected to tourism services of Crimea, or investment in Crimea which included the acquisition of business entities or establishing joint ventures located in Crimea is now prohibited. For further detail we advise our members to visit the Gov.uk website for definite information. For those that trade with Russia, or have teams in Russia, the following link on Gov.uk has up to date information on sanctions here. 

Foreign travel advice 

The Foreign Office now advises against any travel to Russia and Ukraine. 

If you have any feedback on any of the Government information that you think would be useful for us to include, please let us know.