War in Ukraine: Tough sanctions against Russia announced by the President of the Commission

With targeted and coordinated action, the EU, US, UK and other countries are extending economic sanctions against the Kremlin. In a joint statement, they announced that selected Russian banks would be removed from the SWIFT messaging system, while announcing the freezing of assets of individuals and entities.

At the same time, a new set of retaliation against Russia was announced, before tomorrow’s special EU meeting on sanctions, by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, which in a televised message again condemned the Kremlin aggression. The triptych of sanctions includes the exclusion of Russian banks from the SWIFT system, the “freezing” of assets of the Russian central bank and the “blockade” of Russian oligarchs by removing the possibility of acquiring citizenship and access to the financial system.

“We are freezing assets of the central bank of Russia. This equates to a freeze on transactions. At the same time, it becomes impossible for the Central Bank to liquidate assets “, the President of the European Commission initially stressed.

“We will ban Russian oligarchs from using their financial assets in our markets. Putin has launched a campaign aimed at destroying Ukraine. “But with what he is doing, he is also destroying the future of his country,” Von der Layen continued.

“I will propose new measures to EU leaders to strengthen the response to Russia,” she said.

Joint Declaration by EU, USA and other countries

“We, the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, condemn Putin’s election war and the attacks on the sovereign nation and people of Ukraine. We stand by the Ukrainian government and people in their heroic efforts to resist the Russian invasion. Russia’s war represents an attack on the fundamental international rules and norms that have prevailed since World War II, which we are committed to defending. We will put Russia before its responsibilities and collectively ensure that this war will be a strategic failure for Putin.

Last week, in parallel with our diplomatic efforts and our collective work to defend our borders and to assist the Ukrainian government and people in their struggle, we, as well as our other allies and partners around the world , we imposed strict measures on key Russian institutions and banks, as well as on the architects of this war, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As Russian forces launch their offensive in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities, we are determined to continue to impose costs on Russia that will further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies. We will implement these measures in the coming days.

In particular, we undertake to take the following measures:

First, we are committed to ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT messaging system. This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and undermine their ability to operate globally.

Secondly, we are committed to imposing restrictive measures that will prevent the Russian Central Bank from using its international reserves in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions.

Thirdly, we are committed to taking action against the individuals and entities that facilitate the war in Ukraine and the harmful activities of the Russian Government. In particular, we are committed to taking steps to restrict the sale of citizenship – the so-called golden passports – that allow wealthy Russians associated with the Russian government to become citizens of our countries and gain access to our financial systems.

Fourth, we are committed to launching a transatlantic working group this week to ensure the effective implementation of our financial sanctions by identifying and seizing the assets of individuals and companies subject to sanctions that are within our jurisdiction. As part of this effort, we pledge to impose sanctions and other financial and enforcement measures on additional Russian officials and elites close to the Russian government, as well as their families and supporters, in order to locate and freeze assets. held in our jurisdiction. We will also involve other governments and work to detect and stop the trafficking of illegal profits and to deprive these individuals of the opportunity to hide their assets in jurisdictions around the world.

Finally, we will intensify our coordination against misinformation and other forms of hybrid warfare.

We stand by the Ukrainian people in this dark time. “Even beyond the measures we are announcing today, we are ready to take further steps to hold Russia accountable for its attack on Ukraine.”