US, allies to ban investments in Russia, sanction banks

Washington

THE United States and its allies will target Russian banks and officials with a "sweeping package" of sanctions on Wednesday (Apr 6) and ban new investment in Russia, the White House said, after Washington and Kyiv accused Moscow of committing war crimes in Ukraine.

The new sanctions will impose additional restrictions on financial institutions and state-owned enterprises in Russia and target Russian government officials and their families, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.

"Tomorrow, what we're going to announce . . . in coordination with the G-7 and European Union (EU), (is) an additional sweeping package of sanctions measures that will impose costs on Russia and send it further down the road of economic, financial and technological isolation," Psaki said, noting that the G-7 and EU comprised around 50 per cent of the global economy.

The measures will "degrade key instruments of Russian state power, impose acute and immediate economic harm on Russia, and hold accountable the Russian kleptocracy that funds and supports (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war," she said.

She declined to comment on reports that the sanctions would target the daughters of Putin.

The US Justice Department on Wednesday also planned to announce new enforcement actions to disrupt and prosecute criminal Russian activity.

Grim images emerging from the Ukrainian city of Bucha include a mass grave and bodies of people shot at close range, prompting calls for tougher action against Moscow and an international investigation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the killings were part of a deliberate Russian campaign to commit atrocities.

Russia, which says it launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine on Feb 24, denies targeting civilians and said images of the deaths were a "monstrous forgery" staged by the West.

Neither provided evidence to support the assertions.

A senior French official said the EU would also likely impose new sanctions on Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal reported that Sberbank may be among the banks targeted.

Two European diplomats said the final package of sanctions would be announced in a coordinated fashion on Wednesday. REUTERS