Abstract

In response to Russia's military action in Ukraine, the Western bloc headed by the US launched an "economic front" against Russia and imposed severe sanctions. On February 26, the major US and European countries agreed to use the "financial nuke" sanctions —— The removal of some Russian financial institutions from the "Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication" (SWIFT) system, which means the imposition of SWIFT sanctions. On the 28th, the US stated that it would take measures to prohibit the Russian Central Bank from conducting any dollar transactions to prevent Russia from mitigating the impact of sanctions through "emergency funds" or "emergency savings accounts”, intending to prevent Russia from using its dollar reserves to cushion the ruble's plunge. The Russian central bank responded quickly that day by raising its benchmark interest rate to 20% to stabilize the economic situation and market expectations. The continuous escalation of the US-Russian economic war will have a serious impact on the Russian economy and spread to the global economy. We should pay close attention to the next phase of sanctions that the US-led Western bloc may take, and prepare for possible extreme situations.