The White House planned to hit with sanctions on the industrial potential, banks and sovereign debt of Russia

New anti-Russian sanctions that could be imposed by the United States in the event of an aggravation of the situation around Ukraine are aimed at reducing the industrial potential of the Russian Federation and causing damage to the economy. According to Reuters, this was stated by the employee of the National Security Council (NSC) of the White House, Peter Harrell.

“The intentions in this case are to reduce Russia’s industrial potential and reduce production capacity over time, and not to act against ordinary Russian consumers,” the White House official quoted TASS as saying.

He did not specify which sectors of the Russian economy would be targeted by the sanctions, but the media, with references to officials from the White House, mentioned aviation, maritime affairs, robotics, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and defense, Interfax notes.

Earlier, Bloomberg sources indicated that the United States and the European Union were close to completing the development of anti-Russian sanctions, which could be introduced in the event of an aggravation of the situation around Ukraine. According to the agency, the sanctions may affect operations with the sovereign debt of the Russian Federation. In addition, the restrictions imply a ban on “the largest Russian banks to conduct some interbank transactions in dollars.” Assets may be frozen and access to the capital markets of “certain banks and government-related entities” restricted. Restrictions may also affect “Russian oligarchs” and state-owned enterprises.

Thus, RBC reports, the sanctions may affect the largest Russian state-owned banks, “such as VTB.” Currently, according to The Wall Street Journal, the White House is finalizing a package of sanctions against Russia and has decided not yet to impose restrictions on Russian gas and oil exports and disconnect the country from the SWIFT international system of interbank payments.

“We will have a very high degree of alignment with Europe if Russia does invade Ukraine,” Harrell warned.

Recall that back in November-December last year, the world media was filled with the topic of the alleged Russian invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions that should follow. According to the authors and experts of these publications, a sign of “invasion” is the concentration of Russian military equipment in the regions bordering Ukraine. Among the likely sanctions are both the shutdown of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, as well as restrictions against Russian energy companies, and the shutdown of the SWIFT system of “fast” financial settlements.