The United States is preparing a sweeping tranche of economic sanctions to “maximise pain in the Kremlin” if Russia invades Ukraine, The Independent has been told by a US government source. These could include blocking financial transfers from Russia’s three biggest banks, two additional sources said.
Some 100,000 Russian troops are believed to have been deployed to by Moscow to Ukraine’s border with Belarus. British armed forces minister, James Heappey, has said that Russian forces are already in Ukraine. Experts on the region said that an invasion was now more probable than not.
The first US official quoted above said that the US, working with its partners and allies is “preparing massive sanctions” that are far beyond any measures which were on the table in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. These could include export controls, as well as financial sanctions. They will be designed to “maximise pain the Kremlin while also minimizing the spillover” elsewhere, the US government source said.
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