The military invasion of Putin’s troops in Ukraine is causing a series of negative effects to the stability of Russia and that of its leader. For this reason, the main European and world organizationsas the European Union or the UNas well as the authorities of some countries, they are imposing drastic sanctions against the interests of the Kremlin, which they consider “a declaration of war” by the Westaccording to Russian authorities.
For now, economic and administrative blockades on Russia continue to grow based on the movements of Russian fighters on Ukrainian soil, to the point that the local currency, the ruble, has suffered an unrecorded crash. Only, the imposition of punishment is the only tool available to the West to try to alleviate the negative effects of the military invasion, since it cannot intervene directly, since Ukraine is not registered as a member of NATO.
Economic sanctions and blocking of the SWIFT system
The European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada jointly decided to exclude a wide range of Russian banks from the SWIFT financial system. Furthermore, this lock harms the country’s financial institutionssince they will be left out of all the financial transactions and payment movements worldwide.
Only, Sberbank and Gazprombanktwo of the strongest banking entities in the country, have been saved from such exclusion because gthey stress their payments thanks to energy goods, such as oil or natural gas, which is purchased on Russian territory. Nevertheless, the European Union does not rule out the imposition of restrictions on these two brands.
Another of the sanctions against the Russian financial sector has been the freezing of assets of the Russian Central Bank in the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canadawhich has led to the prohibition of all kinds of global transactions with the main economic reserve of the country. Also, another of the measures that has been taken together is the closure of airspace for all airlines from Russia.
The United States has implemented measures against the financial stability of Russiaas well as the declaration of a “blacklist” against everything that has to do with the figure of Vladimir Putin. Likewise, Joe Biden, President of the United States, assured that it will follow the role of the European Union, through the confiscation of yachts or apartments, as the organization has already done.
In addition, Visa and Mastercard have suspended all their operations in Russiadirectly affecting the daily life of the population since they cannot make payments with them or even withdraw cash at the ATM.
Russia breaks with big brands
The advance of Russian troops in Ukraine is causing the withdrawal of large brands and companies, which have ordered the departure of their companies from the country. For example, in the technology sector Apple or Microsoft have ended the production and sale of their products on Russian soil, as well as the refusal of large producers, such as Sony, Warner Bros and Paramountto promote their films and series in this country. Netflix, one of the most important streaming services in the world, confirmed the withdrawal of all the original productions that had been agreed in Russia.
In addition, companies in the automotive sector, such as General Motors, Audi, Harley Davidson or Volkswagen They have paralyzed their vehicle sales throughout the territory. Even, Google and Facebook have completely vetoed the reception of Russian media, such as RT News or the news agencies, Russia Today and Sputnik. The fashion sector has suffered a setback in Russia, as major brands, including Nike, Adidas, Zara or Mangohave announced the closure of all its stores and the breaking of sponsors with Russian organizations.
Russian sport suffers a severe setback
Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch a military invasion against Ukraine it has cost the world of sport dearlysince in a week they have lost the possibility of hosting the Formula 1 race, the Champions League final in Saint Petersburg or the celebration of the next Volleyball World Cup.
What’s more, sanctions have hit Russian athletes and clubssince some will not be able to compete under the name of their country or the organizations themselves they have rejected that the teams participate in competitions, as UEFA, FIFA and the Euroleague have done. The most drastic measure has been the denial that the Russian national team participate in the next World Cup.
Likewise, the cultural sector has also been affected, with the exclusion of Russia from the next Eurovision contestas well as the boycott of Russian original cinema led by the European Film Academy. As well, some conductors have had to suspend their performances due to the rejection by the main European theaters because of the invasion of troops on Ukrainian soil.