Sanctions put Russia in an economic vice and West still has more options, experts say – By Barbara Shecter (National Post) / February 28, 2022
‘It’s kind of like a massive aerial bombing (in financial terms)’
Russia’s currency plunged and its stock market seized Monday after Canada and other G7 nations intensified financial sanctions aimed at pressuring Moscow to pull back from its invasion of Ukraine.
Measures targeting Russia’s central bank froze a significant portion of the country’s US$650-billion of reserves, preventing the government from using those emergency funds to shore up its economy against the Western assault, analysts said.
On Monday, deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland said all Canadian financial institutions are prohibited from engaging in any transaction with the Russian Central Bank, and Canada is also imposing an asset freeze and prohibition on dealing with Russian sovereign wealth funds.
