Ukraine invasion: Germany prepares to 'disconnect Russia from SWIFT' Lithuania president says
Lithuanian president says 'majority of countries' support SWIFT disconnection
Germany has agreed to disconnect Russia from the SWIFT international banking system Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said in a Saturday press conference.
The news – which the Lithuanian president described as "a major step forward" – comes following a meeting between Nauseda and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Saturday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, welcomes Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda, left, for talks together with Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki about the Russian invasion in the Ukraine at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber / AP Newsroom)
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"We have acknowledged that our fellow colleagues are now seeing things in a different way," the Lithuanian president said. "The process has already started.
"Several months ago only the Baltic States and one other state supported the disconnection of Russia from Swift," he continued. "Today, the majority of countries support this step and I know that Germany is also getting ready to disconnect Russia from Swift. It is a major step forward."
Russia launched a full-scale invasion into Ukraine Thursday and Western nations have responded with a litany of severe sanctions against not only Russian banks and businesses but against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for Russia’s removal from the SWIFT international banking system – a move that would essentially bar Moscow from top financial networks.
The international program allows banks worldwide to securely and efficiently communicate with one another and it facilitates trillions of dollars worth of cross-border transactions.
Ukrainian servicemen walk at fragments of a downed aircraft seen in in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. It was unclear what aicraft crashed and what brought it down amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine Russia is pressing its invasion of Ukraine ( AP Photo/Oleksandr Ratushniak / AP Newsroom)
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But in the second round of sanctions announced by the U.S. and European Union earlier this week, a SWIFT ban was not included – largely because top EU nations like Germany reportedly opposed the push.
In another stance reversal, Scholz agreed on Saturday to send defensive military aid to Ukraine as Russian forces continue to pummel the nation.
"The Russian invasion marks a turning point. It is our duty to support Ukraine to the best of our ability in defending against Putin's invading army," the German chancellor said in a tweet. "That is why we are delivering 1000 anti-tank weapons and 500 stinger missiles to our friends in Ukraine."
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CRIMEA, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 24, 2022: Servicemen ride on a truck to the Perekop checkpoint on the Ukrainian border. Early on February 24, President Putin announced a special military operation to be conducted by the Russian Armed Forces in response to (Sergei Malgavko\TASS via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The announcement was championed by Zelenskyy, who previously chided Germany's lackluster support after it agreed to send 5,000 helmets to help with the war against Russia.
"Germany has just announced the provision of anti-tank grenade launchers and stinger missiles to Ukraine. Keep it up, Chancellor Scholz," he said.