War in Ukraine
The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

U.S., European allies freeze ‘Putin’s war chest’ as Russia careens toward economic crisis

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday morning released details of its new economic restrictions against Moscow

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Updated February 28, 2022 at 6:50 p.m. EST|Published February 28, 2022 at 7:30 a.m. EST
The headquarters of the Bank of Russia, the country's central bank, in Moscow on Feb. 23. Western allies have taken aim at the institution to an unprecedented degree. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg News)
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The U.S. government and its European allies on Monday imposed sweeping new penalties aimed at crippling Russia’s economy, as the West escalated its financial war against the Kremlin over the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia’s economy was already showing signs of severe distress before the new measures were implemented, with the value of the ruble plunging and crowds of Russians rushing to withdraw cash from ATMs. But the situation deteriorated markedly on Monday, with the Russian central bank raising its key interest rate from 9.5 percent to 20 percent, a move that could be seen as a way to deter people from withdrawing more money from domestic banks. And officials also kept the Moscow stock exchange closed Monday and Tuesday, a step that delayed an even greater flight of money.