SANCTIONS: U.S., allies target 'fortress Russia' with new sanctions, including SWIFT ban

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

U.S., allies target 'fortress Russia' with new sanctions, including SWIFT ban

WASHINGTON: The United States, Britain, Europe and Canada on Saturday (Feb 26) moved to block Russia's access to the SWIFT international payment system as part of another round of sanctions against Moscow as it continues its assault against Ukraine.

 

The measures, which will also include restriction on the Russian central bank's international reserves, will be implemented in the coming days, the nations said in a joint statement that also vowed further action to come.

 

"We will hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin," the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Canada and the United States wrote.

 

(more)

 

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/us-allies-target-fortress-russia-new-sanctions-including-swift-ban-2522501

 

 

White House and EU nations announce expulsion of 'selected Russian banks' from SWIFT

 

(CNN)The White House, along with the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada, announced Saturday evening that they would expel certain Russian banks from SWIFT, the high-security network that connects thousands of financial institutions around the world, pledging to "collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin."

 

"This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally," they wrote in a joint statement released by the White House, also pledging "restrictive measures that will prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions," and restricting the sale of "golden passports" that allow Russian oligarchs to avoid the brunt of sanctions already levied.

 

US and European officials have also discussed targeting the Russian Central Bank with sanctions, according to two people familiar with the talks, a step without precedent for an economy of Russia's size.

 

(more)

 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/26/politics/biden-ukraine-russia-swift/index.html

 

 

[mtls2005]

Needless to say the oligarchs are repositioning their private aircraft and super yachts.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-25/russian-billionaire-jets-superyachts-roam-free-as-attack-rages

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

15 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Needless to say the oligarchs are repositioning their private aircraft and super yachts.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-25/russian-billionaire-jets-superyachts-roam-free-as-attack-rages

 

Perhaps Thailand's submarines could be deployed... if they only had any!  ????

 

[Kwasaki]

The Swift ban is not as bad as its made to be. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Facebook bans Russia state media from running adverts, monetising

Move comes hours after Moscow said it was limiting access to Facebook amid fact-checking dispute and invasion of Ukraine.

 

Facebook says it has restricted Russian state media’s ability to earn money on the social media platform as Moscow’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine reached the streets of Kyiv.

 

“We are now prohibiting Russian state media from running ads or monetising on our platform anywhere in the world,” Nathaniel Gleicher, the social media giant’s security policy head, said on Twitter on Friday.

 

(more)

 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/26/facebook-bans-russia-state-media-from-running-adverts-monetising

 

 

 

 

 

[Thailand]

36 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

The Swift ban is not as bad as its made to be. 

Explain please.

[Kwasaki]

59 minutes ago, Thailand said:

Explain please.

Watch France 24 .

[ozimoron]

3 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

The Swift ban is not as bad as its made to be. 

Analysis: SWIFT block deals crippling blow to Russia; leaves room to tighten

 

https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/swift-block-deals-crippling-blow-russia-leaves-room-tighten-2022-02-27/

[gargamon]

It's the 21st century war. No longer how many bombs dropped or troops deployed. Do something bad and we will prevent you from doing business with the rest of the world. Want to play in the big sandbox, you need to play by the big sandbox rules. 

 

The big sandbox will experience higher prices,  it may get a bit cold with fuel shortages, etc., but democracy is not easy, and occasionally must be earned.

[The Hammer2021]

4 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Needless to say the oligarchs are repositioning their private aircraft and super yachts.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-25/russian-billionaire-jets-superyachts-roam-free-as-attack-rages

 

 

Yeah. It's called running scared

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday announced a major increase in the country’s defense spending, marking one of the most significant changes in decades to the country’s post-World War II approach to security and possibly upending European defense policy.

 

German lawmakers were still debating the plans as over 100,000 protesters assembled just a few meters away in front of the Brandenburg Gate to rally for peace. The scale of the protest — one of the largest in years — took authorities by surprise, and provided a visible display of just how deeply Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shaken Germans this week.

 

(more)

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/27/europe-germany-defense-russia-ukraine/

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Russian flights will be banned from the airspace of 20 European nations

LONDON — Twenty European countries have closed — or have said they will close — their airspace to Russian flights and flight operators, amid a coordinated pushback against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

 

About half of the countries announced the move on Sunday, ahead of an extraordinary meeting of European foreign ministers to discuss further measures to support Ukraine and punish Moscow. Other countries, including Estonia and Romania, had previously announced their intention to ban Russian flights.

 

 

 

(more)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/27/airspace-russia-flights-european-countries-ban/

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

"The European Union will ban Russian media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday.

 

Saying that the EU will ban “Kremlin’s media machine,” von der Leyen added that “state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our union.”

 

“We are developing tools to ban the toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe,” von der Leyen said. In the U.K., the Russia-backed RT channel is under review by media regulator Ofcom. The channel was suspended on Saturday in Australia by Foxtel.

 

https://variety.com/2022/politics/global/european-union-ban-russian-media-outlets-russia-today-sputnik-1235191175/

 

[John Drake]

14 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Russian flights will be banned from the airspace of 20 European nations

LONDON — Twenty European countries have closed — or have said they will close — their airspace to Russian flights and flight operators, amid a coordinated pushback against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

 

And meanwhile, in Thailand.   

 

Quote

Bangkok, 24 February, 2022 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is pleased to report that Russia’s S7 Airlines has introduced a once weekly direct service between Russia’s Novosibirsk and Thailand’s Krabi, from now through to the end of March 2022, servicing European winter traffic to the Southern Thailand province, which is famed for its beautiful beaches, enchanting islands, and welcoming hospitality.     https://www.tatnews.org/2022/02/tat-welcomes-s7-airlines-new-weekly-service-between-russias-novosibirsk-and-thailands-krabi/

 

[onthedarkside]

A post has been removed for violating the following local rule pertaining to posting in these "Home Country Forums":

 

 No Political discussions.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

"Governments aren't the only ones wounding Russia's economy as a move to divest from the country takes hold among corporations. British oil major BP, the biggest foreign investor in Russia, is selling its 20% stake in Rosneft (at a cost of up to $25B) after coming under fire from the U.K. government.

...

Norway's Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) is following suit, exiting its joint ventures in Russia and stopping new investments there.... In fact, Norway's government has even ordered its $1.3T oil fund, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, to ditch its $3B in Russian investments.

 

Joining the campaign to isolate the country, UPS (NYSE:UPS) and FedEx (NYSE:FDX), two of the world's largest logistics companies, have suspended shipments to Russia. Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) has also banned sales to the country due to new export controls that covered computers. Meanwhile... Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is facing growing pressure to cut off Russians' access to the App Store."

 

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3806718-equinor-ups-and-fedex-join-drive-in-divesting-from-russia

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The stock markets are down again this morning more than 1% over invasion jitters... But a whole bunch of defense contractor stocks I track are all hitting new 52 week highs or even all-time highs today. Russia is good for defense stocks!  ????

 

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Russia's economy is poised to plunge into recession, warns JPMorgan

...

"Russia's central bank reserves have effectively been frozen amid the decision, says Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid. The country had about $630 billion of foreign reserves, a majority of which likely resides directly with G10 banks and central banks, points out Reid."

 

"The Russian ruble crashed more than 20% Monday as the country's citizens reportedly began to line up at ATM machines to withdraw cash.

 

Russia's central bank responded by raising a pivotal interest rate to 20% from 9.5%. The Bank of Russia has also moved to limit foreign sales of securities by brokers, reports The Wall Street Journal.

 

(more)

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/russia-economy-poised-to-plunge-into-recession-warns-jp-morgan-120344770.html

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Cancellations, revocations and repudiations: Russia becomes persona non grata in sport

 

The Russian invasion of Ukraine drew more punitive measures across the sporting world on Saturday, a day after Russia was stripped of hosting the Champions League final, which was moved to Paris from Saint Petersburg.

 

https://www.france24.com/en/video/20220227-russia-becomes-persona-non-grata-in-sport

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

IOC Calls for Worldwide Ban on All Russian, Belarusian Athletes

 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday recommended that all Russian and Belarusian athletes be temporarily barred from competition.

 

In a statement, the IOC made a recommendation regarding "the dilemma the Olympic Movement is currently facing" due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The committee previously told organizations to cancel Russian events.

 

"In order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants, the IOC EB recommends that International Sports Federations and sports event organizers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions," the organization wrote.

 

(more)

 

https://www.newsweek.com/ioc-calls-worldwide-ban-all-russian-belarusian-athletes-1683215

 

[Kwasaki]

On 2/27/2022 at 6:39 PM, Thailand said:

Explain please.

Do you have tunnel vision listen to financial experts.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Operator of Nord Stream 2 files for bankruptcy and fires all employees

 

The Swiss-based company behind the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has filed for bankruptcy and fired all 106 of its employees, a local official confirmed to Swiss radio broadcaster SRF.

 

Why it matters: Long viewed as a Kremlin influence project that would increase Europe's energy dependence on Russia, Nord Stream 2 was one of the first targets of the flurry of Western sanctions triggered by Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the certification of the $11 billion natural gas pipeline would be suspended last Tuesday, a day after Putin ordered Russian troops into eastern Ukraine for a "peacekeeping" mission. The U.S. followed up by rescinding sanctions waivers on Nord Stream 2 AG and its corporate officers, dealing what was likely the death blow to a project that had caused major headaches for President Biden and the trans-Atlantic alliance.

 

(more)

 

https://www.axios.com/nord-stream-2-bankruptcy-05fe10e2-a312-4f44-ab59-0b6e2629e222.html

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

• BlackRock (BLK -0.4%), the world's largest asset manager, has confirmed that it suspended the purchase of all Russian securities in its active and index funds on Monday, in the light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

 

• "We also have proactively advocated with our index providers to remove Russian securities from broad-based indices," Rich Kushel, head of portfolio management group for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), and Salim Ramji, global head of iShares and index investment for BlackRock, said in a joint statement.

 

• Russian securities make up less than 0.01% of BlackRock's (BLK) clients' assets, mostly in its index portfolios, they said.

 

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3809226-blackrock-suspends-purchase-of-russian-securities-from-funds

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Scuzballs:

 

French retail giant looks to expand its Russia business and increase products in stores after other brands pull out

 

A French retail giant said it wants to expand the products on offer at its Russian stores to fill the gap left by other brands after they halted operations in Russia, The Telegraph reported.

...

Leroy Merlin is owned by French retail moguls, Association Familiale Mulliez, who also own the sports retailer, Decathlon. The Mulliez family behind the company is worth around $45.9 billion, according to Bloomberg.

 

Leroy Merlin operates 112 stores in Russia, while Decathlon has around 60 Russian stores. Neither retailer has suspended their operations in Russia, The Telegraph reported.

 

(more)

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/retailer-looks-expand-russia-business-as-more-firms-pull-out-2022-3

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Russia Suffers Blow as Germany Strikes Natural Gas Deal With Qatar

 

"Germany said Sunday that it had reached a deal on an energy partnership with Qatar, as the European powerhouse seeks to reduce its dependence on Russia amid the invasion of Ukraine.

 

Robert Habeck, Germany's Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, met with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Sunday.

 

State-owned QatarEnergy said in a statement that the two countries "would re-engage and progress discussions on long term LNG supplies," Reuters reported. While Qatar didn't say that an agreement had been reached, a German spokesperson told the news outlet that a deal between the nations had been finalized.

 

(more)

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-suffers-blow-as-germany-strikes-natural-gas-deal-with-qatar/ar-AAVitpC

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

White House pledges more sanctions to impose 'maximum pain' on Russia as Biden heads to Europe

 

...

To add to that pain, Biden plans to announce new sanctions on Thursday on most of the more than 300 Russian lawmakers who make up Russia’s lower house of parliament as well as other Russian elites, the Wall Street Journal reported.

...

In addition to the new sanctions on Russian lawmakers, further restrictions will likely target oligarchs — wealthy individuals in Russia who also wield political power.

...

In addition to the new sanctions on oligarchs and others, White House aides plan to "tighten existing sanctions to crack down on evasion and to ensure robust enforcement," Sullivan said.

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/white-house-pledges-more-sanctions-on-russia-as-biden-heads-to-europe-135104551.html

 

 

AND

 

EU Looks to Tighten Sanctions Minus Energy

 

The EU is considering tightening or expanding existing sanctions against Russia in coordination with the U.S., while refraining from major new steps to cut off oil and gas purchases.

...

Any new measures countries can agree on would be limited in scope and possibly focused on closing loopholes, according to an EU diplomat.

 

Amid the threat of a deepening divide over how to limit Moscow’s biggest source of revenue, another EU official said the 27-nation bloc and the U.S. could announce further asset freezes and travel bans against individuals and entities.

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ukraine-zelenskiy-attend-nato-summit-071025015.html

 

[thaibeachlovers]

On 2/28/2022 at 12:02 AM, Kwasaki said:

The Swift ban is not as bad as its made to be. 

IMO it's all about looking as if western politicians are doing something. They know ( or they should know ) that any actual military involvement will end badly for everyone, so all they have got, apparently, is sanctions and saying strong words.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 3/24/2022 at 6:15 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

The EU is considering tightening or expanding existing sanctions against Russia in coordination with the U.S., while refraining from major new steps to cut off oil and gas purchases.

LOL.

What a bunch of hypocrites! Sounding tough, and apparently doing nothing that would result in the energy flow being stopped.

[Kwasaki]

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

IMO it's all about looking as if western politicians are doing something. They know ( or they should know ) that any actual military involvement will end badly for everyone, so all they have got, apparently, is sanctions and saying strong words.

Putin knew more sanctions would be inforced cause that's all they can do and all they want to do. 

Ukraine sadly is a lamb to the slaughter.

 

The sad thing is Ukraine is in a catch 22 situation, I believe that Z Ukrainian President thought that NATO or America would intervene and still believe's they will and keeps asking.

The UN is fast tracking Ukraine into the EU that will be of great help. ????

 

I think he should of realized it wasn't going to happen when they offered to take him and his cabinet out of the country in the beginning.

 

I think no-one has an idea what Russia will do and Russia are playing it like chess.

The war is full of a lot of guessing hot air windbag politicians on media and radio, TV stations and also full of OTT emotion.

 

It's war make an offer and get it stopped.

 

 

[ozimoron]

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

IMO it's all about looking as if western politicians are doing something. They know ( or they should know ) that any actual military involvement will end badly for everyone, so all they have got, apparently, is sanctions and saying strong words.

Today's news is that many more heavy weapons are headed Ukraine's way. I have posted the links in other threads on this topic.