WASHINGTON, Feb 23 — President Joe Biden announced a new set of US sanctions against Russia’s financial sector following Moscow’s decision to recognise the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics (DPR and LPR).
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees on Monday recognising the independence of the DPR and LPR. Under the new treaties, Moscow will ensure the security of the two Russian-speaking republics.
“We are implementing full blocking sanctions on two large Russian financial institutions, VEB and their military bank. We are implementing comprehensive sanctions on Russian sovereign debt. That means we have cut off Russia’s government from Western financing. It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either,” Sputnik quoted Biden as saying during remarks at the White House.
The US Treasury Department said the United States will allow transactions with Russia’s Vnesheconombank, or VEB, until March 24 as part of the wind down period. The Treasury Department explained that it issued a licence allowing certain bond servicing transactions with the VEB bank for bonds issued before March 1, 2022.
The Treasury Department said it also sanctioned 42 subsidiaries belonging to VEB bank and the Promsvyazbank Public Joint Stock Company (PSB).
Also designated are Russia’s Central Sport Club of the Army (CSKA) and the Russian Export Center, which are VEB subsidiaries, according to the Treasury Department.
In addition, the Treasury Department said it designated five vessels owned by a subsidiary of the PSB.
Biden pointed out that the United States is sanctioning Russia’s sovereign debt that will prohibit the country from receiving Western financing.
Biden also said sanctions will be imposed on Russia’s elite and the Treasury Department unveiled new sanctions against the children of Russia’s FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Office Sergei Kiriyenko and former Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.
Alexander Bortnikov’s son, Denis Bortnikov, is currently the Deputy President of VTB Bank and Chairman of the VTB Bank Management Board. Sergei Kiriyenko’s son, Vladimir Kiriyenko, used to be Rostelecom’s vice president and is currently the CEO of VK Group, and Mikhail Fradkov’s son, Petr Fradkov, serves as the chairman and CEO of PSB.
A senior Biden administration official told reporters that banning Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system is not in the first batch of sanctions, but that option remains on the table.
More sanctions against Russia will be announced if the situation with respect to Ukraine escalates further, the official added.
Biden announced that he had approved the deployment of US troops already stationed in Europe to the Baltic region in order to bolster NATO’s eastern flank.
The Pentagon later detailed that 800 US troops will be sent from Italy to the Baltic region. Moreover, 20 Apache attack helicopters will be sent to the Baltic region, up to eight F-35 fighter jets will be sent to other unamed locations on NATO’s eastern flank, and 12 Apache helicopters will be sent to Poland.
— Bernama
