INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The European Union on Wednesday cut seven Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system and banned Kremlin-controlled media outlets RT and
Sputnik from broadcasting into the bloc.The measures, effective immediately, were the latest ratcheting up of the Western-coordinated
sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, now in its seventh day."At the speed of light, the European Union has adopted three waves
of heavy sanctions against Russia's financial system, its high-tech industries and its corrupt elite," European Commission chief Ursula
von der Leyen said in a statement.The cumulative punishment over the past week, also targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, ministers
and oligarchs supporting his rule as well as Russia's central bank, has already caused Russia's economy to buckle.But so far there is no
inevitably also hit the bloc's economy, though to a lesser degree.'Signal' to PutinWednesday's latest sanctions, signalled since the
weekend, exclude listed banks from the global SWIFT interbank messaging network which allows for quick and secure transactions.The list
comprised Russia's second-biggest lender VTB Bank as well as Bank Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Rossiya Bank, Sovcombank and VEB
(Vnesheconombank), all of which were deemed to have direct financing links to Russia's war in Ukraine.The list did not name Russia's
biggest bank Sberbank or another significant one, Gazprombank, in order to allow EU countries to pay for Russian gas and oil deliveries.But
a senior EU official said the list would be kept "continuously under review" and could be changed according to "how the situation is
evolving on the ground."He added that, with cumulative earlier sanctions by G7 partners, "slightly more than 80% of the (Russian) banking
system is subject to some sanctions," in the form of the SWIFT ban, asset freezes and financing sanctions imposed by the EU, the United
new EU investment in the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the supply of euro banknotes to anyone in Russia, except for personal use or
diplomatic reasons."This is the largest sanctions package in our Union's history
von der Leyen said.RT, Sputnik bannedBrussels also banned broadcasts by RT, formerly known as Russia Today, and Sputnik, both considered
propaganda organs of the Kremlin parroting disinformation over what was happening in Ukraine."We are taking an important step against
Putin's manipulation operation and turning off the tap for Russian state-controlled media in the EU," the bloc's foreign policy chief
of division in our Union."The EU declared both the outlets "a significant and direct threat to the EU's public order and security" and
said they were "essential and instrumental in bringing forward and supporting the aggression against Ukraine, and for the destabilisation of
its neighboring countries."It announced an immediate ban on their signals via satellite, cable, apps or the internet and a suspension of
their licenses in the EU, specifically also targeting RT's subsidiaries broadcasting in English, German, French and Spanish.Risks to
EUOfficials warned the Russian war in Ukraine would be deleterious for the 27-nation EU, compounding problems already experienced with
supply constraints, spiking energy prices and inflation."The Russian invasion will likely impact the eurozone's growth negatively," EU
economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said, adding that the risks "shouldn't be under-evaluated.""We can't exclude that a further factor of
crisis can come in, for example gas supply conditions, financial consequences, or disruption of supply chains," he said.The EU official
speaking on the SWIFT sanctions said it was inevitable that blocking Russian banks from the system would "impact" the EU and Western
countries.But, he said, "that is understood and that is accepted."
