Ukraine Update

*This page will be updated as new information comes to light. To help flag up the latest information, recent additions and changes are marked as ***NEW*** or ***UPDATED*** respectively.

A full-scale attack was launched by Russia on Ukraine last week. Revised UK sanctions on Russia were announced earlier this week. These will be strengthened during the day. British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) will provide us with further updates as they become available.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) recommend that concerned companies trading with Ukraine and Russia contact the Export Support Service (ESS) on 0300-303-8955. The ESS helpline hours are being extended between now and the end of the weekend, from 08:00 – 22:00 Thursday-Sunday inclusive. DIT will review this on Monday to examine the case for out of hours provision. Alternatively, companies can access the ESS landing page which also features a dedicated link for Ukraine and Russia enquiries.

EU sanctions came into force late last night, including import bans from Donetsk and Luhansk, and export bans on selected goods and services to those territories. These will apply to EU commercial entities.

The BCC team is assessing the business impact and they have written to the UK government today to ask about the support available for business. We will provide further information as and when we receive it from UK government. If you have any immediate concerns, please contact richard@cumbriachamber.co.uk and if we cannot answer we will refer your situation to BCC for further information.

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UK organisations encouraged to take action in response to current situation in and around Ukraine. UK organisations are being urged to bolster their cyber security resilience in response to several malicious cyber incidents centred around Ukraine.  It comes after the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ, updated its guidance to UK companies and organisations last week.