The sanctions against Russia, adopted in the light of the events in Ukraine, are not aimed at causing interruptions in the supply of Russian energy resources to world markets, they are designed to hit the Russian economy. This was announced on Thursday, February 24, during a briefing by the Deputy Director of the National Economic Council of the White House, Duleep Singh. The broadcast was on C-Span.
“Our sanctions are not intended to in any way disrupt the current energy supplies from Russia to other countries,” he said.
According to Singh, the restrictions were designed to cause “serious damage” to the Russian economy at minimal cost to the US and its allies and partners. However, he added, it will take a long time.
“These effects will lead over time to higher inflation, higher interest rates, lower purchasing power, lower investment, lower productive capacity, lower growth [экономики] and a lower standard of living in Russia,” said Singh, who is also Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs in charge of the global economy.
Earlier in the day, US President Joe Biden announced that the West was restricting Russia’s ability to conduct hard currency transactions, thereby stopping the ability “to finance and develop the Russian military” and the ability of the Russian Federation to be part of the global economy. The American leader clarified that he had discussed the upcoming sanctions with G7 partners of the G7.
On the same day, Biden, following a meeting with the leaders of the G7 countries, said that the allies were ready to introduce a “crushing” package of sanctions against Russia.
Later, the US Treasury Department announced the introduction of restrictions against five Russian banks, including Gazprombank, Sovcombank, Novikombank, Otkritie Bank and Alfa-Bank. As noted, the new sanctions “will further limit the Russian financial services sector and significantly reduce the ability of other critical Russian economic sectors to access global markets, attract investment and use the US dollar.”
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a special televised address, announced that a special operation would be carried out in the Donbass in order to protect the civilian population and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, which was indicated in the appeal of the DPR and LPR to the Russian leader. After that, the head of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of hitting the country’s military infrastructure and introduced martial law throughout the state.
The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said that the army did not carry out air missile or artillery strikes on the cities of Ukraine. They stressed that nothing threatens the civilian population of the country. High-precision weapons destroy military infrastructure: military airfields, aviation, air defense facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Vasily Nebenzya stressed that this cannot be called a war. He pointed out that the Russian authorities are still open for dialogue, but they do not intend to allow a new bloody massacre in the Donbass.
On February 21, the Russian leader signed decrees recognizing the independence of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LNR and DNR). Also, the President of the Russian Federation and the heads of both republics Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. The documents were ratified the next day by both the republics themselves and the Russian State Duma.
The situation in Donbass escalated on February 17. The DPR and LPR reported heavy shelling by Ukrainian security forces, including from heavy weapons. The republics announced a general mobilization and evacuation of civilians to the territory of Russia.
Since 2014, the Kiev authorities have been conducting a military operation against the inhabitants of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kiev blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the conflict.