World leaders announced additional sanctions on Russia and Belarus over the weekend of Feb. 26-27:
- Sanctions on President Vladimir Putin and key Russian government officials. The United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, and Japan all sanctioned Russian President Vladimir Putin and other key Russian government officials.
- Sanctions on the Russian Central Bank and decoupling select Russian banks from SWIFT. France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Canada, and the U.S. released a joint statement committing to sanction the Russian Central Bank and decouple selected Russian banks from SWIFT.
On Sunday, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a proposal to implement sanctions on the Russian Central Bank and exclude important Russian banks from SWIFT. Japan also announced its support for removing certain Russian banks from SWIFT. The precise list of Russian banks that will be targeted has not yet been announced.
On Feb. 28, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a new directive prohibiting transactions involving Russia’s Central Bank, National Wealth Fund, and Ministry of Finance.
- U.S. sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund, its management company, one of the managing company’s subsidiaries, and its CEO. OFAC imposed full blocking sanctions on each of these entities.