Various economic sanctions have been imposed on Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. The main purpose of the new US and EU sanctions is to punish Putin.
When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, it was expected to soon face a series of severe economic and trade sanctions from the United States, the European Union and its Western allies.
The United States, Britain and the European Union have imposed new sanctions on Russia. Sanctions imposed on Russia following Thursday's major attack on Ukraine have been described as "severe and devastating."
Announcing the sanctions in a live broadcast, US President Joe Biden said that Russia would have to pay a heavy price for its attack on Ukraine and that its economy would be severely affected.
The first phase of the sanctions targets Russia's two largest banks, Sabir Bank and VTB Bank, which are state-owned. Sabir Bank owns one-third of Russia's assets.
VTB Bank owns 16% of Russia's assets and all of its assets in the United States have been frozen. Under the new restrictions, the two banks will not be able to transact in dollars.
Russia's three largest financial institutions have also come under banking sanctions, including Otkreti, Novikom and Sovcom. In addition, the activities of 90 small financial institutions have been completely curtailed.
All of these institutions conduct economic transactions in conjunction with the global banking system. These Russian institutions are involved in 80% of international financial transactions on a daily basis. President Biden has also banned the supply of critical technology to Russia.
On the other hand, the European Union has decided to ban the sale of commercial aircraft to Russia. The sanctions include blocking access to sensors, lasers and other telecommunications products used by the Russian military.
Britain has also imposed sanctions on three Russian emirs. Some sanctions have been imposed on Belarus, Russia's main ally. Like Britain, the US Treasury Department will target the Russian elite.
There are also rumors that Russia will be excluded from the SWIFT, a global financial payment system, but this has not yet been confirmed, with Germany opposing it. There are also reports that not only Germany but also some other US allies are hesitant about the ban. If that happened then we would all be in for a treat.
