US President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced the "first tranche" of sanctions against Russia, including steps to starve the nation of financing, saying Moscow had started an invasion of Ukraine, reports Hindustan Times.
"We're implementing sanctions on Russia's sovereign debt. That means we've cut off Russia's government from Western financing," Biden said, threatening tougher moves if Moscow "continues its aggression."
The move targets VEB, Russia's state development bank, and members of the nation's "elites," the US leader said.
"They share the corrupt gains of the Kremlin policies, and should share in the pain as well."
The declaration came after the European Union launched its own sanctions in a coordinated Western attempt to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Biden said the responses "have been closely coordinated with our allies and partners" and added, "We'll continue to escalate sanctions if Russia escalates."
While blocking new financing for Russia is an unusual and potentially harsh move, US's response did not seem to go as far as the European Union, nor as far as some expected, although a veteran US administration official said "all options remain on the table" including targeting Putin himself.
"We are starting high. These are severe costs we are imposing," the official told reporters. "The pain is building."
The "full blocking sanctions" on VEB and PSB, another bank significant in financing the military, and their subsidiaries implies the financial institutions will have any foreign assets frozen and will be prevented from utilizing the US banking system.
US likewise is targeting five individuals and their families, with similar effect.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in statement, "We continue to monitor Russia's actions and if it further invades Ukraine, the United States will swiftly impose expansive economic sanctions that will have a severe and lasting impact on Russia's economy."
However, the initial US sanctions cover fewer financial institutions than the EU's, omitting the nation's biggest and most important bank, and did not sever the nation from the SWIFT system used to move money around the world.
Nor did Biden resort to export controls, which would have deprived Russian companies off from significant high-tech equipment and software, which some analysts said was a possibility.
