The West finally throws a punch in its face-off with Russia

[Uncle Joe]

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After months of making careful, measured moves that failed to persuade Russia to halt plans to invade Ukraine, the United States and its European allies have tossed aside caution in favor of a more ruthless strategy.

Over the weekend, Washington and its partners unveiled a raft of measures — from new weapons transfers to anti-corruption punishments to powerful sanctions on Russian banks to the shutting of the European Union’s airspace to Russian flights — that are sure to make Moscow suffer economically even as it struggles to tame Ukraine militarily. Not only did once-hesitant countries like Germany, shocked by images of a Russian assault on the Ukrainian capital, take the lead on certain fronts, but some of the penalties are directly aimed at Russian leader Vladimir Putin himself.

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At times, it was hard to keep up with all the announcements of new anti-Kremlin moves that landed in recent days, the sum of which was arguably historic in size and scope. Even some private companies and international sports organizations took steps to punish Russia. Countries friendly or neutral toward Moscow, meanwhile, largely stayed silent or are offering to help mediate an end to his latest attack on Ukraine. And Putin’s hints that he might be willing to take the nuclear route didn’t prompt any sudden kowtowing from his detractors.

The Russian economy immediately felt the impact, with the country’s currency, the ruble, crashing as Russians rushed to get cash and the country’s stock market was kept shut. U.S. officials on Monday, meanwhile, laid out new details of sanctions imposed on Russia’s financial institutions, including its central bank, finance ministry, National Wealth Fund and Direct Investment Fund. The sanctions will make it much harder for the Russian government to access and move around many of its assets.

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https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/28/u-s-russia-ukraine-protests-sanctions-00012173