The economic and financial sanctions imposed on Russia after its illegal invasion of Ukraine will fundamentally change the international economic system with lasting implications for the way the global economy operates.
The sanctions are designed to weaken the Russian government’s ability to pursue the war in Ukraine by denying it access to essential global markets for finance, technology, goods and services. The package adopted so far has three main components: blocking access to financial markets; measures against wealthy individuals who support President Vladimir Putin; and restricting involvement in international markets for goods and services. The search is on to find a way to reduce the Russian government’s ability to sustain itself from hydrocarbon revenues, while minimizing the economic cost to European consumers.