On Thursday, President Biden announced new sanctions on Russia in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.
“Today, the United States, along with Allies and partners, is imposing severe and immediate economic costs on Russia in response to Putin’s war of choice against Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement. “Today’s actions include sweeping financial sanctions and stringent export controls that will have profound impact on Russia’s economy, financial system, and access to cutting-edge technology.”
“The sanctions measures impose severe costs on Russia’s largest financial institutions and will further isolate Russia from the global financial system,” the statement continued. “With today’s financial sanctions, we have now targeted all ten of Russia’s largest financial institutions, including the imposition of full blocking and correspondent and payable-through account sanctions, and debt and equity restrictions, on institutions holding nearly 80% of Russian banking sector assets. The unprecedented export control measures will cut off more than half of Russia’s high-tech imports, restricting Russia’s access to vital technological inputs, atrophying its industrial base, and undercutting Russia’s strategic ambitions to exert influence on the world stage.”
“The impact of these measures will be significantly magnified due to historical multilateral cooperation with a wide range of Allies and partners who are mirroring our actions, inhibiting Putin’s ambition to diversify Russia’s brittle, one-dimensional economy,” the statement added. “The scale of Putin’s aggression and the threat it poses to the international order require a resolute response, and we will continue imposing severe costs if he does not change course.”
According to a White House fact sheet, the new sanctions include, “Severing the connection to the U.S. financial system for Russia’s largest financial institution, Sberbank, including 25 subsidiaries, by imposing correspondent and payable-through account sanctions.”
“Full blocking sanctions on Russia’s second largest financial institution, VTB Bank (VTB), including 20 subsidiaries,” the fact sheet said. “Full blocking sanctions on three other major Russian financial institutions: Bank Otkritie, Sovcombank OJSC, and Novikombank- and 34 subsidiaries.”
“New debt and equity restrictions on thirteen of the most critical major Russian enterprises and entities,” it added.
Biden’s new sanctions do not target Putin directly and he refused to answer why he was not going targeting the Russian president when asked by reporters on Thursday.
Biden skips a question on why he does not sanction Putin today. pic.twitter.com/FvLfHoC8K2
— MRCTV (@mrctv) February 24, 2022
