As Russia ordered military forces into the eastern part of Ukraine, the United States and their allies are starting to live up to their promises of punishing Vladimir Putin for the aggression.
Several moves have already been taken, and a few big ones are being held back if needed.
Germany halted the Nord Stream 2 pipeline certification, which is a pretty powerful move that will impose economic penalties on Russia. Here’s how – this pipeline can deliver 55 cubic meters of gas per year to Germany, which is 50% of what they use annually. That means $15 billion in lost revenue for the Russian state-owned company called Gazprom that controls it. The pipeline runs 750 miles, and construction was completed in September, but Germany has not authorized its use yet.
One move the US could make is hitting Russian banks with sanctions, which would cut them off from the global financial system.
Another sanction the US could use is to limit exports into Russia, which would hamper their ability to bring smartphones and key manufacturing components into their country.
There’s also the global messaging service banks and financial institutions use called SWIFT, and the European Union could remove Russia from SWIFT, which means it would be very difficult for Russia to send money in or out of the country, which would wreak havoc on Russian companies that use US dollars.
Experts say if Russia was blocked from SWIF, it could reduce their economic output by 5%.
Other European nations, including the UK, have already imposed sanctions and have more aggressive plans to punish Russia if they continue their military march into Ukraine.
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