The United States plans to introduce financial restrictive measures against “pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine,” The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources.
“Upcoming sanctions, which will freeze the assets of at least four individuals, could be announced as early as Thursday,” the newspaper writes.
The American authorities suggest that such a decision will put pressure on Moscow to “dissuade Russia from invading” Ukraine. On January 19, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will visit Kiev and meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, the newspaper recalls.
In January of this year, the United States introduced a new package of sanctions against Russia in the event of its invasion of Ukraine. The so-called “Authoritarian Hostilities Deterrence Act 2022” includes a ban on transactions with Russian companies in the energy, financial, mining and aerospace sectors, and also implies sanctions for SWIFT if it “does not stop providing services to Russian banks and companies “, subject to restrictions.
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