US President Joe Biden announced these sanctions on the evening of 22 February. The website of the US Treasury states that Vnesheconombank (VEB) and Promsvyazbank are subject to restrictions, as well as 42 of their subsidiaries.
“This is a response to the actions of the Russian Federation. He closely coordinated his actions with our allies and partners,” Blinken stressed.
He said the US will continue to expand sanctions against Russia if it continues to escalate its aggression against Ukraine.
“Today we are implementing full-scale sanctions against Vnesheconombank and Promsvyazbank, which serve the Russian military. Together, their assets amount to $ 80 billion and we will freeze these assets. In the US, we will prohibit American citizens from conducting any transactions with these banks, we will exclude them from the global banking system,” the Secretary of State said.
The U.S. is stepping up sanctions against Russia’s sovereign debt, Blinken said. If earlier there was talk of blocking in the primary market, now it is in the secondary market, he explained.
“As a result of this ban, the Russian government will be deprived of the opportunity to use key international financial instruments, which will increase the financial costs for Russia,” the head of the State Department added.
In 2014, immediately after the occupation of Crimea, Russia launched an armed aggression in eastern Ukraine. The fighting is between the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the one hand and the Russian army and Russian-backed militants who control part of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions on the other. Officially, the Russian Federation does not recognize its invasion of Ukraine, despite the facts and evidence presented by Ukraine.
In 2015, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine recognized the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions controlled by Russia. temporarily occupied territories.
On February 15, 2022, the lower house of the Russian parliament – the State Duma – adopted an appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin on recognition of the illegal formations of the “LNR” and “DNR” as “independent republics”.
February 21 Security Council of the Russian Federation considered the issue of recognition “independent republics” of illegal armed formations “LDNR”. None of the members of the Security Council of the Russian Federation spoke out against such recognition.
Later that day Putin announced the recognition of “independence” occupied territories of Ukraine and signed the relevant decrees in the presence of the leaders of the illegal armed groups “DNR” and “LNR” Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik. Decrees officially provide for the entry of Russian troops into the territory of ORDLO for “peacekeeping”. Late on the evening of February 21, residents of occupied Donetsk reported the movement of a very large column of tanks and armored vehicles from Donetsk in a southwestern direction to the front line.
On February 22, the State Duma, followed by the upper house of the Russian Parliament – the Federation Council – ratified the treaties of the Russian Federation with the “LDNR” on friendship and mutual assistance.
RF actions condemned in the EU and USA.
USA imposed sanctions against “LDNR”, Russian banks and sovereign debtas well as elite families. United Kingdom – against five Russian banks and three businessmen from Russia, Germany decided to suspend certification Nord Stream 2.
Canada And Ukraine announced sanctions in connection with Putin’s decision. the European Union approved the first package restrictions.
Putin made the decision to recognize the “LDNR” against the backdrop of a sharp escalation in the Donbass, which has been observed since February 17, as well as the pulling of Russian troops to the border with Ukraine. According to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, at the Ukrainian border there is 150 thousand Russian military, equipment and heavy weapons. Western countries warn that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine. US President Joe Biden said on February 18 that he had reason to believe that Putin already decided to invade and what Russia will attack Kiev.
Western countries promised that in the event of an invasion of Ukraine against the Russian Federation severe sanctions will be imposed.
Zelensky said that Kiev regards the decision of the Russian Federation to recognize the “independence” of the so-called “LDNR” as violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. It may also mean a unilateral withdrawal of the Russian Federation from the Minsk agreements and ignoring decisions within the Normandy format, Zelensky added. The Verkhovna Rada adopted a resolution in which it stated that Russia, recognizing the “independence” of terrorists, unilaterally withdrew from the Minsk agreements.
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