SUN 27 FEB, 2022-theGBJournal- As Russian forces unleash their assault on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, the United States and the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada have announced a fresh round of crippling sanctions against Russia, this time focusing firmly on the country’s financial system.
The leaders from these western countries have committed to ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT messaging system, one of the toughest financial sanctions that have the potential of severely damaging Russian economy.
The move will ensure that Russian banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally.
SWIFT a messaging network used by banks and other financial institutions to quickly, accurately, and securely send and receive information, such as money transfer instructions.
The allies also moved against the Russian Central Bank in the latest round of sanctions, preventing it from deploying its international reserves in ways that undermine the impact of the sanctions.
The western allies equally moved against wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government seeking to block them away from using their financial assets on western markets, and this week, they will launch a transatlantic task force that will ensure the effective implementation of the financial sanctions by identifying and freezing the assets of sanctioned individuals and companies that exist within our jurisdictions.
Meanwhile, reports quote local officials as saying that Russian troops have entered Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv, a city of 1.5 million people, and after Russia failed to capture the capital Kyiv, while casualties mount on both sides.
Ukraine military attacked and destroyed a convoy of 56 tanks near Hostomel, just northeast of Kyiv Saturday.
The U.N relief agency said the war has recorded at least 240 civilian casualties with 64 killed and more than 160,000 on the move after Russian troops entered Ukraine. The U.N Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said up to 4 million people may flee the war and adds that they are stepping up operation in the country to provide humanitarian aid to those forced to flee.
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