Biden has FROZEN 1 TRILLION DOLLARS OF RUSSIAN MONEY & Frozen Five RU Banks

[Budi]

Link to tweet

Let’s just be clear about what Joe Biden has done here. He has FROZEN 1 TRILLION DOLLARS OF RUSSIAN MONEY. Stop obsessing over SWIFT and look at what
JoeBiden is doing.
He’s frozen five Russian banks. Tho SWIFT would have been simpler, this is a devastating blow to RU, & it's only the beginning.

Joe Biden and Boris Johnson have now locked Russian oligarchs out of most of the world banking system as the ruble slumps. This will hurt. And we can work on SWIFT.

In addition to the banks Joe Biden has slapped devastating technology sanctions on Russia that will prevent it from military and other scientific advancement.
These sanctions will crush Russia’s economy on their own. And Biden has still left some room for more.

Link to tweet

*****(

CANADA~

Trudeau also just announced more sanctions as well.

Trudeau announces sanctions to punish Russia for its 'horrific' attack on Ukraine
Canada aims sanctions at Russian oligarchs, banks
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6362554

Trudeau said Canada will target 62 individuals and entities, including members of the Russian elite and their family members, the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group and major Russian banks, among others.

Canada will also direct its financial firepower at members of the Russian Security Council, including the country's defence, finance and justice ministers.

Effective immediately, Canada will stop issuing export permits for Russian products and cancel existing permits.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said hundreds of permits covering goods worth more than $700 million will be immediately cancelled — a blow to Russian companies that import valuable Canadian goods like aerospace parts, technology and minerals.

Trudeau announced a series of sanctions earlier this week after it became clear Putin was preparing for some sort of attack on Ukraine — a country that has sought to more closely align itself with Western countries and the European Union in recent years.
MORE...

[Ocelot II]

1. Gotta wonder how that might affect TFG's finances...

[wryter2000]

6. I wonder about Putin's finances

Some people think he might be the richest man in the world.

[Irish_Dem]

31. They say Putin is worth $200 Billion.

He can lose a lot of money and still be ultra wealthy.

[Lonestarblue]

50. But where is that money? If it's in the EU or the US, it may be frozen.

I’m sure some is stashed in offshore accounts or maybe Swiss banks, but it’s probably spread around. His oligarchs most likely care more for their billions than for Ukraine. Perhaps they’ll give the megalomaniac the Novichok treatment he’s so fond of using.

Biden also needs to look at Bitcoin. I don’t really understand how it works, but I’ve read that it’s often used to hide money from drug dealing and sex trafficking—specialties of Russia’s billionaires. Is it even possible to freeze those assets?

[Irish_Dem]

75. I am sure they stashed it somewhere safe. Where is it?

That I do not know. But I guess if you have $200 billion, you can afford to hire the best experts to hide your money. Maybe gold and silver are options. But yes I am sure he has it all spread around.

I would think Putin let the oligarchs know to hide their money ahead of the invasion too.

No idea about Bitcoin, but yes it needs to be considered too.

[lastlib]

68. The ruble is soon to be toilet paper.

It has been tanking on the FX markets. Russian debt securities, too.

[Irish_Dem]

77. Putin is probably smart enough to have taken his money of the ruble market

ahead of the invasion.

And certainly as a dictator, who may have to leave the country suddenly, rubles are not a wise choice anyway.

[3825-87867]

82. Ironic that toilet paper

just may be the item (or EXTREME lack of an item!) that beats him! LOL!

[wryter2000]

83. Yeah, but

The rich are weird about money. It's like the more they have, the more they want. "I have to live on a measly 1 billion?"

[Irish_Dem]

85. Right, it is an addiction. No amount is ever enough.

Last edited Thu Feb 24, 2022, 06:15 PM - Edit history (1)

I read a study once about multi-millionaires.

Very rich people. And every single one of them complained that they didn't have enough money and if they just had more, life would be good.

Then the researchers interviewed people who had these magical amounts of money, and guess what? They were not happy either, they didn't have quite enough money.

Crazy.

[tblue37]

97. I think it's the same mental glitch that causes hoarding.

[Irish_Dem]

99. Right, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, addictions, etc.

[DENVERPOPS]

87. I am afraid of Putin's retaliation

Using cyber warfare against all NATO nations and the U.S.

[Irish_Dem]

88. Yes he has been threatening to target "sensitive" US assets.

What ever that means, but doesn't sound good.

[DENVERPOPS]

92. Agreed ID

It could be tragic, in so many different ways, and so many different areas.......

For years I have watched as "Cell Phones system shut down on east coast", or "a utility grid goes down for no reason in an area of the U.S." etc etc

And have always wondered if "someone" was testing their hacking capabilities.................

[Irish_Dem]

95. Right, I have wondered the same thing.

Makes you wonder if there is a little test going on.

Right Putin could target electrical grid, communications, etc.

[DENVERPOPS]

100. As well as all

the banks, stock market, supply chains,......you name the possibilities.......It's anybody's guess.

Month's ago, they caught a specially designed Russian sub that was specifically built to set down on the ocean floor, straddling a communication cable. The kind of cable that connects different continents to each other.......And they surfaced, right above a huge cable that runs from Europe to the U.S.

The shit we don't know is going to be a major problem, you can bet on it...........

[Irish_Dem]

102. Right, financial systems, manufacturing, food, comm cables.

Yes there are Russian subs lurking around all the time.

And this is the stuff we know about.

What about the stuff we never thought about, or don't know about?
Right.

Putin is what mean SOB that is for sure and I would not put anything past him.

[DENVERPOPS]

110. Putin is getting up there in age

And after working 40+ years towards this end, I suspect he knows it is his last "hurrah" and is going to take it to the very end.......

I, for one, refuse to live in a "Road Warrior" type world, I don't know about you or anyone else...........

[Irish_Dem]

111. His goal is to get Ukraine, to show his power, to live his fantasy.

He wants to shift global world power in his direction.

I am not sure any of this includes blowing up the world.

Unless of course the reports about serious illness and drugs are true, then I am not sure how far he would go.

I don't think many of us will survive a Road Warrior type world.

[DENVERPOPS]

112. With the way he LOATHES NATO

there is no way he will stop at Ukraine....................

[Irish_Dem]

113. Unless he is stopped.

[DENVERPOPS]

114. There are demonstrations

going on in Russia by it's people, against what Putin is doing.

THOSE are the brave ones, knowing that their demonstrating will certainly end up with at a minimum their arrest, and then who knows what..............

Quite frankly, I am surprised Trump and the Republicans haven't organized demonstrations of their 70 million sheep, to cheer on Putin.........

[Irish_Dem]

115. Yes the Russian people are very brave.

To risk jail or worse, protesting the invasion.

I am not sure if Putin cares what the Russian people want or need.

Trump is probably figuring out how to make money and grift off the invasion.

[DENVERPOPS]

117. Probably.............nc

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

139. I doubt we'll ever know all of the bribes, kickbacks, and payments

for classified info and favors he sold while in office. I suspect he's one of the most corrupt politicians our country's ever had. He's got no scruples, but maybe a lot of rubles.

[Irish_Dem]

142. Yes many of the crimes he committed are classified.

We will never know the extent or particulars of those crimes.

And yes he is one of the most corrupt and treasonous POTUS.
And yes he got rich.

[radius777]

121. We've already factored this in

and are prepared to retaliate and shut down their grids etc if they try that.

[Irish_Dem]

134. So both sides have war-gamed all of this out.

Good

[smb]

7. He's Gonna Be Crapping Bricks (of chewed-up evidence) nt

[azureblue]

81. or maybenot

If (and he does) owe money to Putin - like the loan that Putin backed, then having Putin fall in defeat and get kicked out of office, may be the best thing that could happen. You don't owe money or favors to a dead man...

[Hugin]

15. Ironically, they may improve.

[Wicked Blue]

27. I doubt he has much money left, if any

He probably owes far more than he holds

[Ocelot II]

28. And if the oligarchs, now needing the money, call his loans?

[Hekate]

44. I think he's got money. It's Russia that will suddenly realize the country is broke.

[twodogsbarking]

72. So nice of you to consider the well being of TFG.

I too wish him nothing.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. No He Can't

I reviewed Russian economic data yesterday.
Those frozen assets represent nearly 25% of total capitalization of the COUNTRY.
They absolutely cannot sustain this. Your view has no basis in financial fact.

[jpljr77]

38. You're exactly right on China. Which is why the China question in the presser was so interesting.

Biden's response "Cannot comment at this time" is VERY interesting, in that it might indicate, 1) China is open to aligning with the West on this narrow occasion, basically dooming Russia, or 2) They're not open, but we're still actively negotiating.

[Buddy2]

48. China will not break ranks and align with the west

If that is the hope. If Germany was attacked we wouldn’t align with Russia. China will back Russia.

[Quixote1818]

45. Plenty of "smart" leaders have entered wars they could not win including the US

Polling shows there is more than enough willing to fight for an effective insurgency. There are a lot of unknowns right now. https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/22/ukraine-russia-afghanistan-defeat-insurgency/

[AntiFascist]

93. Don't forget Saudi Arabia...

OPEC(+) has allied with Russia in that they won't be increasing production to stabilize the price of oil, thus Russia will gain from higher oil prices.

[thucythucy]

104. China though has its eyes on parts of Siberia.

The USSR and China engaged in an actual shooting war over border disputes in the 1970s.

A weakened Russia would actually be a very nice thing for China.

[Claustrum]

10. You can't sanction a country until they do the deed.

You don't sanction someone because you think they would do it.

[The Jungle 1]

103. Remember Ukraine is NOT a NATO member.

They did not want to join and pay the dues. NATO supports NATO
This is an important point and is why we will not send troops.
Biden needs the country to understand this point.

[lapucelle]

127. Where did you hear that "Ukraine did not want to join [Nato] and pay dues"?

[The Jungle 1]

131. It was in 2010 that Ukraine said no to NATO.

They wanted to remain independent. Viktor Yanukovych was the president at the time. Yanukovych did end up leaving the country.
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2010/03/29/ukraine-says-no-to-nato/
This article is by the well respected Pew Research Center. Written in March of 2010.
From the article:
When asked about what they would like to see for their country’s relationship with Russia, two-thirds (66%) believed that the countries “should be independent, but friendly states — with open borders, no visas and customs.” Another 22% of Ukrainians believed that the countries “should unite into one state.” Few Ukrainians (8%) wanted relations to be “the same as with other countries — with closed borders, visas and customs.” Pew Research Center

There is no way we should send in troops. The people said no to NATO and wanted to be "friendly" with russia.
NATO protects NATO. Be a member, pay your dues or fight your own wars. We can sell them all the arms they need and we could use the frozen russian money to pay for the arms

Understand this rant is what we need to shove down the throat of the right when they use the false attack of Biden being weak.
I have already shut down several rants about Biden being weak using this information. It is a solid argument.
The other argument is how trump did nothing to Iran when they bombed our base in Iraq. That was an actual attack on America. The little maggot did nothing! Have your arguments ready.

[lapucelle]

132. Yanukovych was the puppet president installed with the help of Russia

Paul Manafort was an advisor.

Yanukovych “left the country” (i.e. fled back to Russia) when he was ousted by a popular uprising.

Where does the part about “not wanting to pay dues” come from? What about the post-2010 history of Ukraine and NATO?

[AlexSFCA]

34. they did in 2014 when they invaded and "annexed" Crimea

[vanlassie]

90. Really? By what rule?

[gristy]

94. Yes, exactly right.

Otherwise, Russia could have claimed they were defending themselves in response. Europe and the US waited and waited and waited. Putin showed his hand by invading, and it is now clear to everyone that our collective actions are in defensive response to that invasion.

[brush]

11. Months ago? I disagree. How do you punish someone before the crime?

It's only recently that the Russians started the build up of forces on Ukraine's border.

[brush]

29. Two different things. The west let him get away with Crimea and the eastern actions. That was...

a mistake the west decided to live with, which is nothing to be proud of, but these new actions in the north and south of Ukraine which seems to point to a takeover of the entire country is an entirely different matter.

[brush]

43. The west made the mistake of letting him take Crimea and contest militarily in other eastern areas.

Last edited Thu Feb 24, 2022, 05:14 PM - Edit history (1)

True enough. This is another matter and has fundamentally changed things. It's a dangerous time. If sanctions don't pressure Putin to back down, what's left?

NaATO forces to the country? We have to know that is extremely dangerous too as NATO troops v Russian ones could be a slippery slope to nuclear war.

Who's prepared for that?

[ancianita]

42. Two different things but both sanctioned nonetheless.Let's not forget history about Crimea sanctions

https://ua.usembassy.gov/treasury-sanctions-individuals-activities-related-russias-occupation-crimea/

all property and interests in property of Belik, Kozenko, Bakharev, Savchenko, Balbek, and Shperov subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.

And none of these ongoing sanctions count the ongoing enforcement of the Magnitsky Act, either.

Putin's move is to show that with or without Trump he's desperate to regain former wealth, and the stoppage of the Nord Stream is another big blow.

[brush]

47. Sanctions or troops. That's what it boils down to. And NATO troops on the ground v Russian...

troops raises the specter of nuclear war. Are you prepared for nukes taking out DC, NYC, London, Paris, Moscow, St. Petersburg?

It's a dangerous time and there's no playing around now. It's a test of resolve.

[ancianita]

52. You're evading, and still denying our past sanctions. This time it boils down to both.

The owner of Wagner group is sanctioned, too, along with both members of his family. I'm telling you that the forces of instability will decamp, and the forces that come from Russian families will not be sent in harm's way because it will bring the Russian people down on Putin.


Biden's moves won't call for nukes. Just saber rattling. We'll give Putin a scenario so that he can make a graceful exit, and then slowly unfreeze some assets. WE will be in the catbird seat. Not Putin.

And Russians will also help make sure of that; they love their children, too.

[brush]

59. I'm not evading anything. It was sanctions or troops before and it is now.

Say what you're getting at. Do you want troops on the ground against Russian troops, or what you're proposing, yet more but different sanctions that might work? No one knows. But we'll find out.

[ancianita]

79. Okay. But you did say, as if it were without cost to Putin,

The west made the mistake of letting him take Crimea and contest militarily in other eastern areas.

So I was bringing back the focus that sanctions did exist over Crimea and do work. They worked in that they held him off Ukraine for over eight years. This time, probably longer. That is why he got Trump to entangle Biden and the Ukraine, to F with them both.

Looking ahead, Putin's got a political challenge in 2024 when he breaks his word to the Russian people that he would step down. Add this setback to that, and we might be witness to something unprecedented in our lifetimes.

Because if Biden is up to what I think he is, he's not going to let Russia on one side, and China on the other, slowly tighten a pincer like grip on us and the West. Biden's seen too-little-too-late and has learned a few things.

[brush]

101. I'm not getting why the sanctions from Crimea held Putin off when he could've easily walked into...

Ukraine anytime during the disastrous four trump years, as trump would've just called him a genius then too and welcomed him to take anything he wanted. Why did he hold back? Maybe he thought he had plenty of time as trump would win again, maybe establish a lifetime dictatorship and they could do whatever they wanted in the world.

It may be, as rumored, that Putin is sick and doesn't think he has much time left since his promise to resign and since trump lost, so he's trying to pull Ukraine back into a Russian empire of sorts. Looks like Belarus is already pulled back and if he gets away with taking Ukraine back, the Balkans might be next.

At first I thought he was trying to re-constitute the USSR but now I think it's to cement his legacy as the one who re-formed the Russian empire.

[ancianita]

106. I think sanctions slowed down the affordability of any measures we see right now in

the costs of getting to and setting up preparedness in just the surrounding of Ukraine's border.
Regardless, he also held back because of bad judgment. He believed Trump would win, then 81 million of us smashed that big lie they first convinced themselves of.

The way I see his future is this: the older soviet states might lead him to think he has some of his old empire "back," but one chance, and they'd slip out the door like an abused spouse. And the Baltics? They will definitely fight to the death and never go back. He knows he can no more just make up his own version of history than Trump can.

The sanctions are having just as strong a psychological effect as the missing frozen wealth is.

[brush]

109. I'm for sanctions as the alternative is not something to consider. Russia needs to get rid of all...

the old, cold war-era KGBers left in their government.

[ancianita]

119. Sanctions are the main thing. Shut down cash flow and you shut down the military budget.

[Pluvious]

137. I see what you did there :)

Even though it was a song about the Soviets, Sting called them Russians.

Here’s to hoping their protests become a tsunami

[PortTack]

16. No..most experts think he may have enough for a few months to one yr.

President Biden in his press conference just now says he feels that with the worldwide sanctions now in place Putin will have few options to continue to finance his war. He even went as far as to say a few months

[Scrivener7]

37. With an economy that is half the size of California's and was struggling to begin with?

Um..... no.

[mcar]

78. Gloom! Doom!

[PortTack]

3. And this is why he didn't feel the need to push for sanctions to SWIFT

President Biden said the sanctions they have enacted would be worse than using SWIFT and he’s right

[JCMach1]

14. Biden clearly stated Europe was the problem with SWIFT

...one or more the allies balked on this

[PortTack]

18. He did, but again also said what we have imposed will hurt far worse than just removing SWIFT

[JCMach1]

21. That's face saving. The Europeans are being two-faced

[Budi]

91. What Biden just told us in his speech was certainly not Face Saving. Jfc🙄

[Cha]

118. Really! What's that.. "face saving"..?

[Budi]

120. Maybe I misread it. But maybe not.

No one heard of SWIFT till Biden had to choose another way to invoke sanctions.
Equally damaging & since it involved another Nation's decision, he acted beyond expectations with the sanctions he & his allies put together.
No simple task & SWIFT may come later.

I don't know what the poo pooing is all about.
These beginning sanctions are directed at the very center of the billionare oligarch's heartbeat.$$$$
A damned good start. Biden is a freakin foreign policy wizard

[Cha]

123. Yes, and I Appreciate PJB, too!

In real time.. not 8 years later down the line after he's gone. Like what happened with President Obama!

I mentioned before.. someone on here said if they ejected Putin from SWIFT it would be an Act of War and maybe they weren't ready for that yet." After I read would it was I see what they meant.

[Cha]

125. P.S. More on SWIFT from Czech President Zeman

Zeman called Thursday's invasion “an unprovoked act of aggression.”

“Russia has committed a crime against peace,” he said in an address to the nation.

Zeman had previously made news by calling Russia’s 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula “a fait accompli.”

SNIP//

Zeman has called for harsh sanctions against Russia, including cutting it out of the SWIFT financial system which shuffles money from bank to bank around the globe.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=16395094

https://www.yahoo.com/news/invading-ukraine-putin-loses-allies-201605774.html

TY

[JCMach1]

124. When you got most of what you want from your 'friends' you don't

Rat them out...

I doubt he can say what he truly thinks.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. Is that $1 trillion at the official exchange rate, or what it would really buy? NT

[Amishman]

5. Good! Now cut them off from SWIFT too, and more

still not nearly enough.

[Ohio Joe]

80. That would be a declaration of war

It is too early to cut them off from SWIFT.

[FoxNewsSucks]

8. Great start!

Now seize the yachts.

Hit every single russian oligarch living outside Russia.

[Bev54]

39. I wish they could just blow them all out of the water. Oops there she goes. n/t

[Captain Zero]

61. Any oligarch with a home here. Lock him out of it.

No Oligarch travel in the USA.

[littlemissmartypants]

12. Let's go, Joe!! ❤

[Rocknation]

13. Can we have some of it?

rocknation

[lagomorph777]

24. Better yet, send it to Ukraine in the form of weapons.

[Hav]

17. Good, but just from the short vid,

it doesn't sound like 1 trillion was frozen. Just the assets they had in the US.

[maxrandb]

19. When can we seize the top 10 floors of Donnie Dipshit Tower

and deport those residents back to Mother Russia?

[underpants]

22. That sound you hear is Trump dropping a load in his pants

💩

[world wide wally]

26. Was it Uday or Usay who bragged about getting most of their funding from Russia?

[SergeStorms]

53. Eric....

whichever one of Saddam Trump's kids he is.

[OMGWTF]

58. They have both said it at different times.

[viva la]

32. Next start confiscating oligarch property in the US and Europe

I understand that will create some vacancies in Trump Tower.

[SharonClark]

36. and the richer neighborhoods in London.

[Bev54]

40. And bomb to shit, Putin's secret compound.

[LiberalFighter]

64. And no income coming in for TFG

[AlexSFCA]

35. Should add SWIFT too

the ONLY way to stop putin is to have russian people in millions rebel against the regime.

[Bev54]

41. I am not sure how effective it is now, no doubt Putin is working with Xi to get around SWIFT

[ancianita]

46. Yep. Biden's moves are a big fuckin' deal. Non trumpcult Republicans admire his power.

Joe's gonna shove Putin into accepting any offer Joe makes.

[Calista241]

49. I wonder how Putin and Russia are going to respond to this.

I suppose he could accuse us of waging economic warfare on the Russian Federation. I hope it's not the case, but this could escalate from where it is very, very quickly.

[Meadowoak]

51. And the GOP, where will their dark money contributions come from now?

[SergeStorms]

57. They'll have to....

go back extorting money from the Saudis again, if they have anything left after Jared got through with them.

[BootinUp]

54. My concern lies to the east

What is China gonna do to help Putin.

[dwayneb]

129. China and Russia - next axis of evil?

Absolutely we should be worried about any sort of cooperation with China. There is no chance that the West could possibly remain intact if those two powers ever became allies of necessity.

In my opinion, while Biden's sanctions are necessary and powerful, they are not enough.

If we really expect to stop Putin we need to be preparing to send many more ground troops and equipment to Europe - now, not later. Russia knows that territory cannot be controlled form the air - it requires boots on the ground. That is why they have been pouring their money into strengthening the troops that were sent to Ukraine.

No one seems to be willing to acknowledge this truth. Although I have to believe that the generals in DOD understand this very well. We just aren't hearing about it.

[Justice matters.]

55. Good! Next step:

Confiscate and nationalize each and every asset that's been frozen. End of their fun mobster's party.

Issue a clear warning first: Condition is, they get together to rid the world of that megalomaniac putin by any means necessary and stop that mindless aggression.

[COL Mustard]

56. If they haven't already, the Brits need to do the same

Lots of Russian assets in Londongrad.

[gab13by13]

62. President Biden's goal right now,

is to keep our allies united. Germany and other EU countries are opposed to banning SWIFT from Russia because it would cut off Russian fossil fuels to the EU. I believe this is why Republicans are pushing president Biden to use SWIFT, they have ulterior motives.

[AllaN01Bear]

63. should also include freezing any ru held us buisness .

should also reinstate no us buisness held by foregin powers .

[lastlib]

71. MoscowMitch may have a tantrum when his dear aluminum plant is seized.....

Too bad, so sad.....sleep with dogs, get fleas.

[AllaN01Bear]

73. i like that saying . itch . itch

[NQAS]

65. Interesting comments at the press conference

Several people asked why he didn't freeze Russia out of Swift. I thought the same thing. I use Swift regularly and I really don't know how I would pay for stuff if I didn't have it available. But he repeatedly said that the sanctions he imposed have far greater impact. And they still asked about Swift. And he repeated that the sanctions he imposed are stronger.

You know full well on the fake news and propaganda circuit tonight they will call Biden weak because he didn't lock Russia out of Swift.

It certainly looks like the US and allies have pretty much locked Russia out of international trade.

I did my bit locally. I asked the state liquor commission to stop selling Russian products. True, the Russian companies already have this money, and probably not in Russia, but I think it would be a good symbolic move. I don't know if they did it.

[NBachers]

66. Will the Republicans still stage their Freedom Party in Moscow this July 4th?

[lastlib]

67. Did he sanction Alfa Bank?

That's the one I care most about. Turn it into a hollow shell.

[Volaris]

70. If it were me, I would have just seized it outright, and then split it between

Aid to Ukrainian refugees who want to get the hell out, and buying anti-tank rounds for the ones who want to stay and put up a fight.

But that's probably considered theft, on some legal level lol.

[mcar]

74. Had anyone even heard of SWIFT before today?

Suddenly it's the media's new "Biden sucks" chew toy.

These are devastating sanctions. Given the anti-war protests already happening in Russia, this is not going to go well for pooty-poot.

[Budi]

107. K & R Thank You! The press's new 'Biden sucks chew toy'.

No one in the press ever spoke the word until now.
Thank god Joe Biden is leading the decisions of this moment.
He's got some powerful strong allies around the world who know & trust him. They are a united front.

[Cha]

122. Oh hadn't but that doesn't

mean much.. I don't have a TV.

I had just looked it up, though.. someone on this thread said that "..ejecting Putin from SWIFT would be an act of war and maybe they weren't ready for that yet.."

I respect and trust PJB.. Not the media****** AT All.

[Bettie]

76. Good

Now knock him of SWIFT.

[Trueblue1968]

84. MY FANTASY :: Send in the USA Vampire Seal Team. BITE ALL THE BAD RUSSIAN POLITICIANS.

A la' .... The Twilight Saga .......
｡･ :･ﾟ★,｡･ :･ﾟ☆ Let the Russian people free ｡･ :･ﾟ★,｡･ :･ﾟ☆

This is what i was doing before i drifted off to sleep last night. I was the leader of the Vampire Team.

[NoMoreRepugs]

86. Is it possible the 'SWIFT' card is being held pending Pootie's reaction to these economic sanctions?

We are talking about the Biden/Harris team here - not the Rump/Pence shitstain collection of misfits.

[stillspkg]

89. And....

We must freeze his Republican “Ass-ettes”

[Emrys]

98. I posted this on another thread, but it's worth repeating:

Based on this analysis, Biden's on the right track:

Blocking Russian access to SWIFT may not be the most effective measure:

This thread from mid-January hasn't dated badly:

JohannesBorgen

As the Russia/ NATO/US/OSCE talks didn’t make real progress, it’s important to look again at this possibility. Can they cut Russia from SWIFT & would this be Armageddon for Russia?

Bill Browder
@Billbrowder
BREAKING: Draft Russian sanctions bill coming out of the senate includes cutting Russia off of the SWIFT banking system if they invade Ukraine. The US used this against Iran and it set them back to the economic dark ages.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-democrats-with-white-house-backing-unveil-russia-sanctions-bill/2022/01/12/06a4f41e-735e-11ec-8ec6-9d61f7afbe17_story.html

Good & difficult question.
Let’s start with basics: what’s SWIFT? It’s simply a messaging system. A chat app if you want! But it only sends special messages designed for cross-border financial transactions for banks globally, for the 11k banks that are part of the network.
Is it possible to cut Russia from it? The US tried in 2014, and the answer they got from SWIFT was “we will not make unilateral decisions to disconnect institutions from its network as a result of political pressure”. In your face.

That’s because SWIFT is not American, of course. Actually, it’s a “cooperative society” based in Belgium under Belgian law! Seriously! So the owners are the members of the networks, with shares reallocated on a regular basis based on flows.

So, SWIFT must follow EU laws, not US ones – which doesn’t mean it can’t disconnect a country, like it dd with Iran in 2018. This was driven by US sanctions, with no obligation coming from the EU, but, again, they were not forced to do it.
What about Russia? The 291 Russian members represent 1.5% of SWIFT flows (you gotta sell that oil!), ranked 13th globally on all SWIFT messages and 6th on payment messages!
That Is a LOT of messages that could be disrupted, on both ends, and a lot of money (prob ?800bn$/y).

Would cutting SWIFT access stop all those payments? No, but it would make significantly more difficult. There are other ways to send payments messages… including very old type stuff! (no, not carrier pigeons) but it would be difficult to convince western banks to use them.

Russia is aware of the risk and has alternative routes: SFPS (a system it designed with mostly Russian & CIS banks) and domestic payment systems that were launched after Visa & Mastercard cut them off in 2014. But Western banks would need to join.

What this suggests is that, ultimately, what matters is banning Western (US+EU+Swiss+UK) banks from dealing with Russia - cutting from SWIFT is just making those deals harder + if done only by the US, we could get the same ridiculous attempts of the EU to bypass the sanctions
Remember this?

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-on-the-new-mechanism-to-facilitate-trade-with-iran

So ridiculous that it has almost never been used despite being announced with great fanfare! (the first deal was to send medical equipment to fight Covid.)

What’s the bottom line here: either you have coordinated US/EU sanctions which ban banks from trading with Russia, or you get into complicated stuff that makes transactions messy and difficult, but not impossible. And can you ban all transactions with US/EU banks?

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1483039324358729730.html

[Budi]

108. Absolutely right, Emrys Appreciate re-posting it here, too.

Thanks

[tinrobot]

105. Every asset in the US is frozen? Including TFG?

[Cha]

116. Rt TY & PJB & PM Johnson &

PM Trudeau!

This is What PJB has been Doing Behind the Scends!

[Cha]

126. ..

Ukraine

[dwayneb]

128. Good first start - but what's next?

These sanctions are absolutely necessary. Most experts agree, that over time, these will have a dramatic effect on Putin's ability to wage war and to maintain his military strength for an extended campaign of aggression.

The question remains though, whether these sanctions are enough.

Based on our knowledge of both WW1 and WW2, the US and the UK were caught with their pants down, and didn't take the aggression of Germany seriously until it was a crisis.

Why are we not sending 50,000 - 100,000 troops immediately to the European theater, on the Eastern Front of NATO?

Why aren't our aircraft carriers and battleships moving to key positions in the Mediterranean iand in the Atlantic surrounding Europe so they are ready when needed?

Maybe these things are in the works and our DOD is keeping them under wraps. Hopefully that is the reason why Biden more or less dodged this question.

Anyone who thinks that Putin is going to stop with Ukraine is a fool. Once upon a time, I thought that Putin would never attack a NATO country. Now that we are into this and we see Putin's level of megalomania it seems clear that he will stop at nothing. We should absolutely be ready to defend NATO and we will need the troops and equipment in place to accomplish that.

One thing to bear in mind that most folks don't know. Russia has more ground troops and artillery than the USA; they have more nukes than all of the Western World combined. The only way the US is superior is with air power.

[nitpicker]

130. IMO

Putin knew what he was doing in regard to the timing of the invasion.

Germany had just shelved plans to develop a LNG terminal.

It's still winter in Europe. Not spring/summer.

Germany and others have limited non-Russian energy options.

So oil keeps flowing, and SWIFT is still available to pay for it.

[dlk]

133. Biden has been on top of this situation from the beginning and has done an amazing job!

I have every confidence he will continue to lead in this most effective way! Now let’s send more military aid to Ukraine and start confiscating Russian oligarchs’ yachts and houses.

[BlueWavePsych]

135. Guess who else got some of his ass frozen?

[Budi]

136. Yeeeup!

[bdamomma]

143. Good

Putin is also aligning himself with Saudi Arabia for increasing oil prices. Cut that off too.

[halfulglas]

138. Somebody last night on MSNBC commented on differences between Crimea and Ukraine.

One of the biggest differences is that Crimea was relatively bloodless. Russia had infiltrated so many of the Little Green Men that it was almost over before it began. They had grabbed so many of the key objectives without paying any price. The coffins returning to Mother Russia were almost nil and economically Russia got their access to the Black Sea. There was little mourning of Russian mothers so Russians believed so much of the propaganda that it really belonged to Russia. This is different. Russians are killing their brothers and cousins and the cost is going to be much greater, economically and in blood. The Russian public is going to feel this much more than 8 years ago.

[Budi]

140. Absutely right. As already being seen & heard around the world.

If Putin thought he'd just repeat an easy in-&-done with Ukraine as he did in Crimea, he was dead wrong.
The world is watching & we're all horrified.
Putin wil die a failure someday, as will his 1 friend, Trump.

[IL Dem]

141. So this makes me wonder about the Russian-owned real estate here in the U.S.

Couldn't we confiscate that?