The West squeezes Russian economy

The ruble plunged 30 percent against the U.S. dollar on Monday after nations expelled Russian banks from the SWIFT global transaction system. Russia’s central bank quickly boosted its key interest rate to stabilize currency and prevent bank runs, but social media posts showed people crowding ATMs to withdraw cash. The European Union sanctioned 26 more Russian elites on Monday, bringing the total number of targeted people to 680, along with 53 entities. Switzerland abandoned its famous neutrality to impose EU sanctions and freeze Russian oligarchs’ assets.

How does this help? The sanctions are meant to admonish President Vladimir Putin and destabilize his ability to pay for the war in Ukraine. European officials estimate at least half of Russia’s estimated $640 billion hard currency pile will be paralyzed now, and some of it is held outside of Russia. A Kremlin spokesman denounced the sanctions but said the country “has the necessary potential to compensate the damage.” The Kremlin closed the Moscow stock exchange on Monday and will keep it shuttered on Tuesday.

Dig deeper: Read Lynde Langdon’s report in The Sift about national and local responses to the Russian invasion.