Australia, Japan and Canada announced sanctions in addition to those of the UK and the EU against Russia. The natural gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 has been stopped for the moment as well. The economic sanctions have now been targeted at specific oligarchs with likely more to come if the military incursion continues.
There will be a reckoning as the US Senate eventually gets to discussing the sanction. As we know from the Moscow Mitch East Kentucky aluminum plant, the US GOP is lousy with Russian oligarchs like Oleg #Deripaska. or at least their investments with US buddies like Paul Manafort and his man in Ukraine, Konstantin Kilimnik. The Mueller report confirms that so-called “Russiagate” is no hoax. Whether or not the Trump campaign illegally coordinated with the Kremlin, Trump has no grounds for proclaiming vindication.
In addition to VEB and
Russia's military bank, which were sanctioned Tuesday, the United States could target more of Russia's biggest
banks with sanctions, essentially making them pariahs and cutting them off from the global financial system.
Export control measures are another powerful weapon in the US arsenal. These restrictions could halt Russia's ability to import smartphones and key aircraft and automobile components, hobbling its manufacturing industries.
The United States maintains sanctions on Russia that were imposed in response to its invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Other penalties have been imposed over issues including cyberattacks, election meddling, weapons proliferation and illicit trade with North Korea.
www.cnn.com/…
In fact, when talking to the new breed of autocrats, whether in Russia, China, Venezuela, or Iran, we are now dealing with something very different: people who aren’t interested in treaties and documents, people who only respect hard power. Russia is in violation of the Budapest Memorandum, signed in 1994, guaranteeing Ukrainian security. Do you ever hear Putin talk about that? Of course not. He isn’t concerned about his untrustworthy reputation either: Lying keeps opponents on their toes. Nor does Lavrov mind if he is hated, because hatred gives him an aura of power.
Their intentions are different from ours too. Putin’s goal is not a flourishing, peaceful, prosperous Russia, but a Russia where he remains in charge. Lavrov’s goal is to maintain his position in the murky world of the Russian elite and, of course, to keep his money. What we mean by “interests” and what they mean by “interests” are not the same. When they listen to our diplomats, they don’t hear anything that really threatens their position, their power, their personal fortunes.
www.theatlantic.com/...
They included full blocking sanctions on two state-owned Russian financial institutions — Vnesheconombank and Promsvyazbank and their subsidiaries — that collectively hold more than $80 billion in assets and finance the Russian defense sector and economic development, the White House said.
Expanded prohibitions that restrict American individuals and firms from participating in secondary markets for new debt by various Russian entities will also deny Russia access to key U.S. markets and investors.
Five Russian elites and their family members will receive full blocking sanctions, including Aleksandr Bortnikov and his son, Denis; Sergei Kiriyenko and his son, Vladimir; and Promsvyazbank CEO Petr Fradkov.
“These individuals and their relatives directly benefit from their connections with the Kremlin. Other Russian elites and their family members are on notice that additional actions could be taken against them,” the White House said.
In addition, any institution in the financial services sector of the Russian economy will be a target for further sanctions to indicate “no Russian financial institution is safe from our measures, including the largest banks,” the White House said.
www.washingtonpost.com/...
2 - Difference is, we're a longtime democratic republic. It might seem unconscionable/ridiculous our electorate could prefer authoritarianism. Such is the power of greedy orchestrated false narratives and untruths. Such are also the perils of free speech. Democracy = hard work.
3 - Clearly, a big segment of our electorate has been emotionalized and coopted. They embrace defiance and contrarianism. Some eschew reasoned thought. The mob is their identity. We see the worst of them on TV, but hey - that's NOT all of them.
4 - Don't say they're all stupid. They're not. Don't say they're all racist. They're not ALL anything. Some are, some are not. We HAVE the numbers IF we don't fall for the spin designed to make us feel futility. The chaos and the outrage are intentional. Don't fall for it.
5 - If we get TRUTH properly into the public narrative, we WILL rise above it, and we WILL flip a few. We don't need many to prevail! We're going to try by producing another film aptly called #UNTRUTH about the Psychology of Trumpism. Read about it here:
6 - There's a 3-minute video on the film too. Thanks for listening.
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The thing to remember is that Trump met with the Russians (Lavrov & Kisliyak) in the Oval Office in 2017 with nobody else present. Then there’s the Trump Tower meeting with the Russian lawyer and the Trump World Tower in Moscow negotiations of 2016.