Ukraine: Biden bans Russian state bonds from US markets in fresh sanctions
Joe Biden has tonight blocked two large Russian financial institutions from operating in the US and has banned Russia from issuing new state bonds on American markets in fresh sanctions against Moscow.
A number of Kremlin-linked oligarchs will also have their US assets frozen and face travel bans, with Biden saying in a White House address that “they share in the corrupt games of the Kremlin’s policies and should share in the pain as well.”
Biden said Russia is “carving out a huge chunk of Ukraine” after sending tanks into the eastern region of Donbas and that the Russian President Vladimir Putin is “setting up a rationale to take more territory by force”.
The US will now freeze the assets of Russian state investment firm VEB and “its military bank”, while also “implementing comprehensive sanctions on Russia’s sovereign debt”, according to Biden.
“That means we’ve shut off Russia’s government from western financing. It can no longer raise money from the west and cannot trade its new debt on our markets or European markets either,” he said.
It comes after German chancellor Olaf Scholz announced today that the £10bn Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany would be cancelled in retaliation for Russia’s actions.
Boris Johnson also banned five Russian banks from operating in the UK and froze all their British assets.
The UK, EU and US have all warned that more sanctions will be levelled at Russia if Putin decides to further intensify his military incursion into Ukraine.
“As Russia contemplates its next move, we have our next move prepared as well,” Biden said.