Moscow, Europe Brief News – Since the invasion of Ukraine, Western countries imposed unprecedented sanctions against Russia in just two weeks.
Thus, Russia has become the biggest target of global sanctions, overtaking Iran, Venezuela, Myanmar, and Cuba combined.
Spencer Vuksic, director at Castellum.AI, says that this rapid escalation sets it apart from previous global action against countries like Iran.
“The crippling economic sanctions which targeted Iran came over the course of 10 years,” he says. “The same type of sanctions adopted against Russia came just in 10 days.”
So far, almost nine-tenths of the new sanctions have been against individuals, such as politicians and oligarchs, compared to less than two-thirds before 22 February.
The sanctions also target major corporations and financial institutions. This aims to cut off Russia’s access to international markets and foreign reserves.
Noticeably absent are restrictions on Russian energy exports, which would likely have a punishing ripple effect on the global economy.
Here is an ever-growing list of sanctions that have been imposed by countries, businesses and the sporting, arts and music world to date.
UK:
Thanks to a fresh wave of sanctions against Russia, Russia’s financial system is now target to UK sanctions.
The country will prevent Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, from clearing payments in sterling.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund – the country’s sovereign wealth fund – and its chief executive, Kirill Dmitriev, have been sanctioned.
EU:
The European Union has also sanctioned multiple companies and banks.
On Saturday, alongside UK and US, the European Commission pledged to remove Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift).
Over 11,000 financial institutions use Swift to send secure messages and payment orders.
The EU will also employ restrictive measures that will prevent the Russian Central Bank from using its international reserves and assets to undermine the economic sanctions.
US:
Additional sanctions against Russia’s central bank have prohibited Americans from doing any business with the institution as well as freezing its assets within the US.
The country also blocked export on Russian technology, including “semiconductors, telecommunication, encryption security, lasers, sensors, navigation, avionics and maritime technologies”, the White House said in a statement.
America cut off the state-owned Russian Direct Investment Fund, seen as a piggy-bank for Mr Putin and his inner circle.
