This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has submitted a resolution to lawmakers endorsing a decision by his National Security and Defense Council to impose sweeping sanctions against Russian financial institutions, including the Russian central bank, insurers, and a host of other enterprises.
The resolution was published on the Verkhovna Rada’s official website.
The document prescribes special sectoral sanctions for a period of 50 years on all banks registered and located in the Russian Federation.
They specifically include the central bank, known as Bank Russia, nonbank credit institutions, payment-system operators, professional stock market participants, insurance companies, investment funds, and other financial institutions that are registered and provide services in Russia.
It is unclear how they might affect foreign-owned subsidiaries that operate in Russia, which initially escaped some of the harshest international sanctions following the invasion.
The measures include a ban on transactions with assets owned by financial institutions of the Russian Federation, a ban on establishing business relations, including correspondent ones, and a ban on transactions and investments in the service of Russian financial institutions.
They also include the purchase of securities and other financial instruments issued by Russian entities, with some exceptions.
More than 80 percent of Russia’s banking sector is already subject to Western sanctions over the year-old invasion of Ukraine, according to some estimates.
