European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday said that Brussels would propose to freeze the assets of the Russian central bank, in a major escalation of sanctions against Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine.
Von der Leyen, president of the EU Commission, said that the bloc has decided to remove some Russian banks from the SWIFT global banking system to “stop them from operating worldwide.”
These new measures will “cripple Putin’s ability to finance his war machine,” Von der Leyen said.
She was speaking after a videoconference with the leaders of the United States, Germany, France, Italy and Canada intended to coordinate the West’s response to the invasion.
The EU will also “paralyze the assets of Russia’s central bank” to freeze its transactions, von der Leyen said.
The Russian central bank is estimated to be over $600 billion and are the vast windfall of Russia’s immense energy wealth.
She said the move was coordinated with the US, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and the UK.
“The Russian army is committing barbaric actions during its invasion of Ukraine. It is bombing and launching missiles killing innocent people”
“As Russian forces unleash their assault on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, we are resolved to continue imposing massive costs on Russia, costs that will further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies,” she said.