2 years ago
Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the specter of the usage of atomic weapons Sunday, putting the country's atomic deterrence forces on precocious alert aft the U.S. and its allies moved to enforce stricter sanctions connected the federation implicit its ongoing penetration of Ukraine.
Putin cited "aggressive statements" from the North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO) aft the radical issued a missive condemning Russia's "full-scale" penetration of Ukraine. The United Nations has confirmed 64 deaths among the hundreds of civilian casualties, though the fig whitethorn beryllium "considerably higher," according to the Associated Press.
The Russian president besides attributed economical sanctions for the important upping of the stakes surrounding the conflict. On Saturday, leaders of the European Union agreed to block definite Russian banks from accessing the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a messaging and colony web that connects lenders astir the world.
Maybe much importantly, astatine slightest the EU has vowed to paralyze Russia's cardinal slope by blocking entree to its overseas reserves. Russia presently has astir $640 cardinal successful reserves, with a sizable information held successful G7 banks.
A joint statement connected the SWIFT decision, issued by the European Commission, U.S., U.K. and Canada, said the leaders of the occidental satellite "stand with the Ukrainian authorities and the Ukrainian radical successful their heroic efforts to defy Russia's invasion."
In summation to putting its atomic arsenal connected guard, Putin besides threatened subject enactment against neutral nations Sweden and Finland aft they expressed a tendency to articulation the 30-nation NATO implicit the unprovoked penetration of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has agreed to meet for bid talks astatine the Belarus-Ukraine borderline without preconditions aft initially rejecting talks successful Belarus implicit concerns that the state was not neutral successful the conflict.
Leaders of the European Union are acceptable to meet connected Sunday to statesman enactment connected implementing SWIFT sanctions connected Russian banks. All implicit the world, radical person been gathering to protest the invasion.
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Sandali Handagama is simply a CoinDesk newsman with a absorption connected crypto regularisation and policy. She does not ain immoderate crypto.
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