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The United States this Monday raised sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine and banned American entities from any operation with the Russian Central Bank, in addition to freezing all dollar assets of this entity.
The measure, announced before the opening of markets in the United States and effective immediately, prevents the Russian entity from accessing its dollar reserves in the world and prohibits any American financial institution or company from making transactions or operations with the Russian Central Bank.
The ban also extends to transactions with the Russian National Investment Fund, senior White House officials said in a call with reporters.
They assured that these new actions will be felt today and will continue to negatively impact the ruble, which is in free fall, as well as further limiting access to Russia’s assets and hitting its economy by preventing financial activities.
The announced ban is a coordinated action with allies and immobilizes Russian assets worldwide.
According to them, there are 630 billion dollars in Russian reserves that only matter if the country’s president, Vladimir Putin, can access them to sell them and strengthen the ruble, but after the measures approved today he will not be able to do so and Russia will be exposed to disaster.
They predicted immediate effects that will not only result in a further devaluation of the currency but also in a further “disconnection” of the country from the global financial system, in the escalation of inflation, and in economic contraction. And all of this, they stressed, has been brought about by Putin himself with his aggression against Ukraine.
