NYT: US sanctions against Russia could cause “financial panic” in the markets and harm the Americans themselves

Possible Washington sanctions against Russia could cause a “financial panic” and deal a serious blow to both the global economy and Americans. The New York Times warns about this.

According to the authors of the publication, “the extremely harsh sanctions that US officials threaten to impose on Russia could cause high inflation, stock market crashes and other forms of financial panic.”

Moreover, tough sanctions “would harm the Americans themselves – from billionaires to government officials and middle-class families,” RIA Novosti reports.

Recall also that earlier The Financial Times noted that the EU countries and the UK are developing a package of sanctions against new Russian gas projects in the event of an invasion of Ukraine. According to the publication, restrictive measures are aimed at reducing funding and technology supplies for new Russian projects in the gas sector.

Moreover, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said that the European Union has a “wide range of responses” to the Russian invasion, including responses to Nord Stream 2.

Meanwhile, the day before, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced disagreements in the EU over sanctions against Russia. According to him, all EU member states agree that Ukraine should retain sovereignty, but there are disagreements in the EU on anti-Russian sanctions in the event of a Russian invasion. Differences, the prime minister explained, relate to the scale of sanctions against Russia, as well as the provision of military assistance to Ukraine.

And before that, on January 16, German Bundestag deputy Friedrich Merz warned that Russia’s disconnection from the interbank system for transmitting information about SWIFT payments would hit not only the Russian economy. He compared Russia’s disconnection from SWIFT to “an atomic bomb for the market” and urged not to interfere in the work of SWIFT.

We add 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.