EU Approves ‘Massive’ Sanctions On Russian Banks And Imports Following Ukraine Invasion

Feb 24, 2022, 09:47pm

The European Union agreed early Friday morning to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia's banks and energy industry.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the bloc's sanctions against Russia were massive and targeted.

Von der Leyen said that the European Union plans to sanction many Russian banks and state-owned defense companies, which she said will restrict Russia's access to European capital markets and raise its borrowing costs.

Von der Leyen said a set of EU export bans will make it impossible for Russia to upgrade its oil refineries and prevent Russian airlines from buying spare aircraft parts and equipment.

The United States on Thursday banned exports of technology to Russia, and the bloc will follow suit.

Russian diplomats and business people will be stripped of privileged EU visas if the European Union restricts Russian bank deposits.

Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia after Putin launched an attack on Ukraine. The sanctions will make it difficult for some of Russia's largest banks to do business in the United States. The United Kingdom plans to freeze the assets of Russia's second-largest bank, ban Russian airline Aeroflot from operating in the country, and target some Russian elites. Australia and Japan have introduced financial sanctions.

Western countries still haven't announced plans to cut off Russian banks from the worldwide platform that financial institutions use to communicate. Biden didn't rule out cutting Russia's access in the future, but some European countries were hesitant. The West has not imposed sanctions on Putin personally.