The Foreign Office has been ridiculed after picturing the wrong man in a post on sanctions against Russian oligarchs.
Staff were left red-faced after proudly announcing new measures to punish Vladimir Putin’s regime – using the wrong image.
A Twitter post featuring a blockbuster-style graphic said businessman Dmitri Lebedev has been sanctioned by the British government.
However, the stony-faced man in the backdrop of the text was actually former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.
People on social media were quick to spot the blunder and tore into the Foreign Office over the mistake.
The image was not deleted until two hours after it was posted, with the government department blaming an ‘administrative error’.
TV critic Tony Earle tweeted: ‘Absolutely mortifying, what a shambles.’
Professor Dmitry Grozoubinski said: ‘It’s not hugely encouraging the FCDO used a photo of Dmitry Medvedev on this poster sanctioning Dmitri Lebedev and have thus far left it up for two hours.
‘For the record they look nothing alike.’
A spokesman for the FCDO said: ‘This was an administrative error which was quickly spotted and rectified.’
Dmitri Lebedev, chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank Rossiya, was among seven wealthy individuals hit with sanctions valued up to £15bn today.
The list includes Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, who the government described as a ‘pro-Kremlin oligarch’.
Ministers have come under sustained pressure to target him over the Russian President’s invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions mean his assets will be frozen – halting the sale of Chelsea FC – and he will be prohibited from making any transactions in the UK, as well as being subject to a travel ban.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the government targeted the oligarchs to ‘ramp up the pressure on the Putin regime and choke off funds to his brutal war machine’.
She said: ‘With their close links to Putin they are complicit in his aggression.
‘The blood of the Ukrainian people is on their hands. They should hang their heads in shame.’
Oleg Deripaska, an industrialist worth £2 billion who has had close links with the British political establishment, is also on the sanctions list.
The measure means yachts and jets owned or chartered by the oligarchs can be seized.
Boris Johnson, who tonight warned ‘barbaric’ Putin could use chemical weapons against Ukraine, said there can be ‘no safe heaven’ for those who have supported his war.
Ministers issued a licence authorising Chelsea to continue playing matches, given the ‘significant impact’ the sanctions will have.
Season ticket holders and those with games already booked can still attend matches, but no new tickets can be sold and the club’s merchandise shop will close.
Downing Street was ‘open’ to a sale of Chelsea, as has been planned by the oligarch, but said a separate licence would need to be approved by the Treasury and ‘under no circumstances would any sale allow Roman Abramovich to profit from that.
Russia-Ukraine war: Everything you need to know
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, the country has suffered widespread damages and loss of life amid a major bombing campaign.
Over two million Ukrainian refugees have fled, as cities face shortages of food, water, heat, and medicine - with some having to resort to melting snow for water.
Countries have retaliated by imposing sanctions on Russia and oligarchs such as Roman Abramovich, while large companies like Starbucks, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola have suspended business in the country.
However, despite these economic blows, Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn't shown any signs of calling off the attack anytime soon.
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