KREMLIN CRUSHED: West Unleashes Hellacious Sanctions and Penalties on Russia
The people of Russia are on the path to great suffering, thanks to the unconscionable actions of dictator Vladimir Putin.
Putin’s reprehensible invasion of Ukraine, based on absolute Kremlin gibberish, has united the good people of the world against Russia. Not only has their been an outpouring of support for the people of Ukraine via social media and monetary donations, but the governments of the world are now working overtime in an effort to blackball Russia nearly entirely.
The United States and European nations agreed Saturday to impose the most potentially crippling financial penalties yet on Russia over its unrelenting invasion of Ukraine, going after the central bank reserves that underpin the Russian economy and severing some Russian banks from a vital global financial network.
Advertisement - story continues belowThe decision, announced as Ukrainian forces battled Saturday to hold Russian forces back from Ukraine’s capital and residents sheltered in subway tunnels, basements and underground garages, has potential to spread the pain of Western retaliation for President Vladimir Putin’s invasion to ordinary Russians far more than previous rounds of penalties.
The financial impact alone could be staggering.
The U.S. and European allies announced the moves in a joint statement as part of a new round of financial sanctions meant to “hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin.”
The central bank restrictions target access to the more than $600 billion in reserves that the Kremlin has at its disposal, and are meant to block Russia’s ability to support the ruble as it plunges in value amid tightening Western sanctions.
Advertisement - story continues belowThe ruble and Russia’s stock market both declined sharply immediately after Russia launched military action in Ukraine on Thursday. The ruble recovered slightly but is still down more than 6 percent from before Putin’s announcement, trading at nearly 84 rubles to the dollar.
Shortly after these actions were announced, Vladimir Putin announced that Russia’s nuclear deterrence force was put on “high alert”, signaling some rather transparent desperation by the Kremlin.
