Ukrainian Foreign Minister: Russian banks will be disconnected from SWIFT very soon
Russian banks will be disconnected from SWIFT very soon. Half of the reserves of the Russian Central Bank have already been frozen, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
"The disconnection of Russian banks from SWIFT is expected to take place very soon. We demand a complete embargo on Russian oil. The first decisions in this direction have already been taken by Canada. And this wave will grow in the future. The introduction of new sanctions has already been announced by the EU, the United States, Great Britain and a number of other countries, Australia in particular. For the first time in history, Switzerland has joined the EU sanctions," Kuleba said.
Kuleba stressed that even earlier cautious Asia joins the anti-Putin coalition. "Singapore imposes export control restrictions. Sanctions against Russian banks and banning air flights. Crushing blows have been made to the Central Bank of Russia with more than half of Russia's reserves being," said the Ukrainian Foreign Minister.
Kuleba stressed that Ukraine continues to receive humanitarian aid from all over the world. "Cargoes with necessities arrive from France, Slovakia, Switzerland, India, Estonia and Lithuania. Last night, Great Britain sent a large cargo through Poland with medical supplies. In total, London has allocated 40 million pounds for humanitarian aid. This is only a small part of the help that we receive from all over the world," Kuleba said.
SWIFT, which stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, is controlled by the National Bank of Belgium and central banks from the US, UK, EU, Japan, Russia, China and others. It delivers secure messages to more than 11,000 financial institutions and companies in more than 200 countries and territories.
Only one country has been blocked from SWIFT. In 2012, Iran was removed from SWIFT as part of a series of measures aimed at curbing the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.