What sanctions will the West impose on Russia? The US has already made the first move

The West condemned the recognition by the self-proclaimed “republics” of eastern Ukraine and the deployment of Russian troops there. Some politicians have announced the imminent imposition of sanctions against Russia, although the details are not yet clear.

After Monday’s speech and the signing of the decree on the recognition of independence in Ukraine, the so-called republics (Lugansk and Donetsk), the White House announced the introduction of the first. Shortly after, President Joe Biden signed a decision banning any economic cooperation with the self-proclaimed republics. The US administration says the harsh sanctions against Russia, announced earlier, are still pending.

What sanctions is the European Union planning?

The Presidents of the European Council denounced Vladimir Putin for recognizing the independence of two self-proclaimed republics on the territory of Ukraine. Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen published a joint statement on the matter, announcing sanctions.

This step is a flagrant violation of international law and the Minsk agreements. The Union will react by imposing sanctions on those who have been involved in this illegal activity

– reads the declaration of the presidents of the EU institutions.

On Sunday evening, von der Leyen on the German TV ARD presented the elements of the sanctions package that the EU had prepared earlier in the event of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine –

Russia would, in principle, be cut off from the international financial markets

Ursula von der Leyen said. Sanctions would be imposed on “all the goods we produce, which Russia urgently needs to modernize and diversify its economy, and at the same time in those areas where we have global dominance and cannot be replaced,” she added.

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“EU sanctions in 2014 limited access to Western capital markets for five Russian state-owned banks as well as for Rosneft, Gazprom-Nieft, Transneft and several defense companies. On the table is a variant of radical tightening of such restrictions on Russian state-owned banks and larger private banks in Russia,” as well as towards the RDIF sovereign wealth fund. It is also possible to prohibit trading in Russian government bonds on the markets in London, the US and the EU “-

The head of the European Commission emphasized that the sanctions would be introduced consistently, but at the same time Russia would have a chance to return to diplomacy.

What sanctions can still be expected?

Russia will not be disconnected from the international SWIFT interbank communication system. However, it would be equally painful to limit access to dollar transactions, writes DW. The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced that he would prevent Russian trade using the American and British currencies.

Sanctions on the energy sector are unlikely. At the same time, however, the West may exert pressure through. Germany is ready to suffer the consequences of blocking the gas pipeline, announced the German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock during the Munich Security Conference last weekend.

There are still possible limitations on the supply of semiconductors signaled by the Americans.