The West on Sunday imposed a ban on SWIFT, excluding Russia from the global payments system as a stringent response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Photos and videos that were circulated online showed the Russian public forming long lines outside of ATMs in panic, to retrieve cash to avoid a financial downfall.
Britain has earlier slapped sanctions on Russian banks, companies, and oligarchs in response to the invasion, and agreed with the European Union and the U.S. to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT global financial messaging system.
Cutting several commercial banks from SWIFT “will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had said.
While U.S. and European officials made clear they still were working out the mechanics of how to implement the latest measures, and intend to spare Russia's oil and natural gas exports, the sanctions in total potentially could amount to some of the toughest levied on a nation in modern times. If fully carried out as planned, the measures will severely damage the Russian economy and markedly constrain its ability to import and export goods.
People stand in line to withdraw money from an ATM in Sberbank in St. Petersburg, Russia.
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