Just as promised The United States and its allies around the world were quick to punish Russia for crossing the Ukraine border. and disrespect the sovereignty of the European territory.
Despite the insistent calls for negotiation and dialogue from the West, on Monday, Putin crossed the border line and recognized the separatist regions as independent republics Ukrainians from Donetsk and Lugansk. The measures will surely increase after the large-scale attack early Thursday.
The agreement with the rebels included the sending of Russian troops complying with the scenarios that the US had already planned.
But the answers were not long in coming. The president of the United States, Joe Biden, considered that Vladimir Putin had begun his invasion of Ukraine and announced a total blockade of the great Russian financial institutions. The Democratic president also pointed out that the recognition of Ukrainian territories as republics was a provocation on the part of Moscow.
“Who does Putin think he is that gives him the right to declare new ‘countries’ on territory that belonged to his neighbors?” Biden noted in his speech. At the same time he detailed the scope of the first of the measures imposed by his government on Moscow.
“We are implementing sanctions on Russia‘s sovereign debt. This means we cut off the Russian government from Western funding”, declared the American president in a speech.
Russia, therefore, “can no longer raise money in the West and it cannot negotiate its new debt in our markets or in the European markets”, he specified.
This measure could influence the value of the ruble and increase the cost of imported products for Russian consumers.
Another target is the financial sector. “We are applying full blocking sanctions against two major Russian financial institutions, VEB (the public development bank Vneshekonombank) and its military bank (Promsvyazbank) “, he added.
According to the correspondent of Financial Times in Moscow, Max Seddon, VEB is not really a bank, but a state-funded bribery fund.
Regarding the Promsvyazbank, Seddon points out that “It was nationalized with the specific objective of being the target of sanctions and thus protect other Russian banks from the US”.
About the Russian elites and their relatives, the initial list includes Russian espionage chief Alexander Bortnikov and his son Denis, presidential deputy chief of staff Sergey Kiryenko and his son Vladimir, and Promsvyazbank CEO Petr Fradkov.
“No Russian financial institution is safe if this invasion proceeds,” a White House official told Axios.
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In a sign of transatlantic coordination, US sanctions coincided with those announced from the United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union.
During his speech, Biden assured that he had “worked with Germany to ensure that Nord Stream 2 does not advance”.
This was later confirmed by the Government of that country, when announcing the suspension of the project linking Germany with Russia and which had not yet been put into operation. (The Nord Stream 2, a recently completed gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, was pending regulatory approval from EU and German authorities before its certification was frozen by Berlin.)
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholzannounced the pipeline certification block in response to the initiative of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
“In the context of the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the German government halts Russian-German Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline approval process until further notice”affirmed the chancellor.
“There can be no certification” of that infrastructurestated Scholz in an appearance before the press in Berlin in which he assured that “the situation has changed” after Moscow’s recognition of the self-proclaimed pro-Russian republics of Donbas.
The chancellor admitted that currently a quarter of Germany’s energy supply is based on gas consumption and stated that of him only half comes from Russia; It also recognized that the decision to prevent the entry into operation of Nord Stream 2 will have consequences for the country’s supply.
For its part, The 27 members of the European Union (EU) approved on Tuesday “unanimously” a “package of sanctions” against Russia.
“We have unanimously agreed on a first package of sanctions,” said the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, after a meeting of the 27 EU foreign ministers in Paris.
The sanctions include asset freeze and visa ban against 351 Russian deputies that approved the recognition of the independence of the separatist territories.
“The sanctions will also target 27 individuals and entities that contribute to undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”, explained the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
These are “actors in the defense sector who play a role in the invasion” of Ukraine, or “who have launched a disinformation campaign against Ukraine”, as well as “banks that finance Russian officials and other operations in those territories”. ”.
Some of those penalized are:
Sergei ShoiguMinister of Defense of the Russian Federation
Anton Vainchief of staff of the Executive Office of the Presidency
Dmitry GrigorenkoDeputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Chief of the Cabinet of the Government of the Russian Federation
Maxim ReshetnikovMinister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation
Nikolay YevmenovCommander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy
Vladimir KasatonovDeputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy
Igor OsipovCommander-in-Chief of the Black Sea Fleet
Army General Oleg SalyukovCommander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces
Army General Sergei SurovikinCommander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces
lieutenant general Sergey Vladimirovich DronovCommander of the Air Force and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air and Space Forces
In addition, the EU intends to target its sanctions against “the economic relations between the two regions and the European Union” and against “the ability of the Russian state and its government to access our financial market and the European capital markets to refinance its debtBorrell added.
For his part, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the United Kingdom will sanctions on five Russian banks and three individuals due to Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.
Johnson stated in a speech before Parliament that sanctions would affect Rossiya Bank, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and Black Sea Bank.
He added that three Russian oligarchs with interests in the energy and infrastructure sector – Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg and Igor Rotenberg – will have their assets frozen and be banned from traveling to the UK. All three had already been sanctioned by the United States.
Johnson accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “providing the pretext for a full-scale offensive” against Ukraine, saying that, if that happened, “stronger sanctions” would be applied.
“This is the first leg, the first volley of what we are prepared to do and we have other sanctions ready to applyJohnson said.
In line with those imposed by the members of the alliance, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced economic sanctions on Russia on Tuesday, considering that Moscow’s actions against Ukraine are “another invasion of a sovereign country and it is completely unacceptable.”
“We will prohibit Canadians from engaging in purchases of Russian sovereign debt. And we will apply additional sanctions to Russian state banks and avoid dealings with them,” Trudeau said as he announced a series of measures.
On Wednesday, the previously coordinated rejection demonstrations against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued.
The Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida announced that his government had imposed sanctions on Russia for its actions in Ukraine, including a ban on the issuance of Russian bonds in Japan and a freeze on the assets of certain Russian individuals.
In a media appearance, Kishida again condemned the “violation of international law” ordered by Putin and announced that visas will be suspended and funds will be frozen from the two Ukrainian separatist territories of Donetsk and Lugansk, in the east of that country, which will be subject to a trade embargo, in addition to blocking new Russian sovereign debt issues on Japanese markets.
Measures also include suspension of visas, the freezing of people’s assets and the prohibition of import and export.
Kishida said that these sanctions, which are in line with those approved on Tuesday by the US and the European Union (EU), will take effect “as soon as possible”.
Just hours later, Australia announced the first round of sanctions against Russia after Moscow.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison explained that your country will prohibit the entry of eight members of the Russian security council, to whom it will apply financial sanctionsin addition to sanctions against industries from various sectors such as energy, mining and hydrocarbons in Donestsk and Lugansk, as well as banking institutions such as the VEB and the Russian military bank, among others.
The Australian government will amend the 2011 autonomous sanctions regulations that apply to Crimea and Sevastopol to expand them to Donestsk and Lugansk, Morrison explained at a press conference in Sydney after a National Security Committee meeting.
“The invasion of Ukraine has already started. This invasion is unwarranted, unprovoked and unacceptable.” Morrison said, assuring that “Australians always stand up to bullies, and we will stand up to Russia.”
Currently the governments of the United States, the European Union and their Western allies are working to identify other individuals who may be subject to future sanctions.
Amid the tensions and the imminent worsening of the crisis, the Government of Ukraine thanked the support of its allied countries. However, the president, Volodymyr Zelensky, asked that pressure be increased in all spheres, including the military and the diplomatic.
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Source-www.infobae.com