Joe Biden imposed a raft of economic sanctions on Russian banks and oligarchs on Thursday as he promised to make Vladimir Putin pay dearly for invading Ukraine. But even with Russian troops bearing down on Kyiv, the package was missing the one punishment that many analysts regard as the most severe: ejecting Russia from the Swift international payments system.
“The sanctions . . . on all their banks have equal consequences, maybe more consequences than Swift,” Biden said, defending the package. “It is always an option, but right now that’s not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take.”
Western leaders are split on whether Russia should be removed from Swift, a move that would deliver a heavy blow to the country’s banks and its ability to trade beyond its borders.