Russia to impose retaliatory sanctions on West after Ukrainian invasion, Kremlin says
Moscow planning sanctions to hit 'weak' spots of the West
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst discusses sanctions the U.S. should impose on Russia.
The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia plans to impose retaliatory sanctions on Western nations on the basis of reciprocity, one day after the U.S. and European Union hit Moscow with a slew of financial penalties designed to cripple its economy.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the sanctions against Russia could pose problems in the near term but are ultimately solvable, as the country had reduced its reliance on foreign imports, according to Reuters, which first reported his comments.
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Senate speaker Valentina Matvienko – a member of Russia's security council and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin – confirmed in a Friday speech that Moscow has prepared counteractions designed to hit the "weak" spots of the West. It's unclear what those penalties may look like; the Kremlin did not immediately respond to a FOX Business request for comment.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin gives comments to the media after a ceremony to sign a declaration on allied cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan at Moscow's Kremlin. (Mikhail Klimentyev\TASS via Getty Images / Getty Images)
President Biden announced a raft of sanctions from the White House on Thursday as military strikes and battles unfolded across Ukraine, with Russian forces targeting airfields and military depots across the country. Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers and Russian troops were killed in the battle, as well as civilians.
The penalties will target Russia's financial system by blocking assets of large Russian banks, imposing export blocks on the technology and sanctioning the nation's ultra-wealthy business oligarchs.
"Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences," Biden said when laying out the sanctions, which he said would "impose severe cost on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time."
A line of cars at a gas stations in Kyiv, capital of Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022. (Yevhen Kotenko/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images / Getty Images)
But the president notably omitted some of the most severe potential sanctions, including cutting off Moscow from the SWIFT payment system, which allows for the transfers of money from bank to bank around the globe.
Some lawmakers, including both Republicans and Democrats, have urged Biden to go further in punishing Russia after Moscow launched a wide-scale invasion into Ukraine.
"There is more that we can and should do," said Sen Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. He also floated the possibility of removing Russia from the SWIFT system. "Congress and the Biden administration must not shy away from any options."
American and European officials have previously raised concerns that Russia may retaliate against the sanctions by cutting off the supply of oil and natural gas that flows from Moscow to Europe, sending prices spiraling higher.
President Biden delivers remarks about Russia's "unprovoked and unjustified" military invasion of neighboring Ukraine in the East Room of the White House. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Russia is the world's second-largest producer of both oil and natural gas; a conflict or sanctions could disrupt the oil market even further at a time when high demand is outpacing tight supplies. OPEC and other oil-producing nations, together known as OPEC+, have resisted calls to boost supply.
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In a bid to reduce prices at the pump, Biden on Thursday suggested the U.S. and its allies will release oil from a global petroleum reserve in the coming days.
"We are actively working with countries around the world to elevate collective release from the strategic petroleum reserves of major energy-consuming countries," Biden said in remarks from the White House. "The United States will release additional barrels of oil as conditions warrant."