On the 24th (local time), the U.S. Biden administration announced strong sanctions, just one day after Russia invaded Ukraine.
In particular, this sanction proposal was derived from consultations with the EU (European Union) and the seven major countries (G7) alliances.
The sanctions are evaluated to be considerably stronger than the first sanctions the day before in that they included about 90 key financial institutions, including two banks, Sberbank and VTB, the largest in Russia.
The pressure that Russia will feel is expected to be much greater as the sanctions include export controls that can damage Russia's aerospace industry and even close aides to President Vladimir Putin.
However, this time also did not include some of the plans with megaton-class explosive power that the US has threatened to impose harsher sanctions that it has never experienced before if it invades Ukraine against Russia.
First of all, Russia's main export sector, the energy sector, was excluded from sanctions.
Some argue that sanctions against energy companies such as Rosneft, Russia's largest state-owned oil company, can inflict more real and direct damage.
The US administration is also well aware of this, but it is known that it has determined that touching the Russian energy sector at this point does more harm than good.
According to Politico, a political media outlet, a high-ranking official said, "Considering high oil prices, if we cut off Russian oil and gas, the (surging) price will work in Putin's advantage." designed," he said.
This is a concern that, if trade is blocked to block energy imports from Russia, a major oil and gas exporter, the current high oil price is pouring oil into the global market, which could lead to chaos in the global energy market.
It is said that it could lead to a situation in which all thatch and three livers are burned while trying to catch bedbugs.
Because of this, the Biden administration has focused more on financial sanctions than on the energy sector.
Another official said, "The focus of the sanctions is on financial institutions."
However, the proposal to withdraw Russia from the SWIFT payment network, which attracted the most attention in relation to financial sanctions, was also omitted this time.
SWIFT is a computer network used by over 11,000 financial institutions around the world to securely send and receive payment orders.
If removed, Russia will not receive any export proceeds, and it has been mentioned as one of the strongest economic sanctions.
For example, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleva asked the West to remove Russia from the SWIFT payment network in a tweet on the morning of the same day that additional US sanctions against Russia were announced.
The United States has also considered the sanctions, but it is known that they have met objections from EU countries.
It is analyzed that Russia's exit from SWIFT could cause a devastating blow to the Russian financial system, but at the same time, banks in western countries may not be able to get back the funds they lent to Russia properly.
President Biden also said that European countries do not want the sanctions at this time.
"It's always an option," he said. "Today's action is a huge sanctions that go beyond that."
A significant number of American media, including the Washington Post (WP), Politico, and The Hill, also paid attention to the exclusion of Russia's SWIFT exclusion from the sanctions.
Another notable point is that there are no direct sanctions against Putin, a key player in the decision to invade Ukraine.
As with the previously announced sanctions, this sanctions plan only includes sanctions against Putin's close aides and those in power within the government.
When reporters asked why sanctions against Putin were dropped, President Biden said "direct sanctions against Putin are still on the table."
The sanctions card against Putin is read with the intention of leaving it to the last minute, given that it is highly symbolic.
Some argue that the use of sanctions against Putin now will be effective, but some argue that there should be room for more use of diplomacy to end the conflict.
Politico mentioned sanctions on Putin's assets and a ban on the central bank's access to the dollar market, predicting that "the final phase of sanctions will be suspended until the occupation of Kiev (Russian forces)."
As if keeping these key sanctions in mind, President Biden said, "Let's talk about whether it's working properly in about a month or so."
In the end, other key sanctions that were not included this time, such as sanctions against energy companies, the withdrawal of the SWIFT payment network, and Putin sanctions, are expected to rise to the surface depending on the development of the Ukraine situation in the future.
However, since these sanctions can be a 'double-edged sword', it seems that the suffering of the West as much as Russia's strangulation is accompanied by pain between the United States and the alliance.
White House deputy national security adviser Dalf Singh said at a briefing today that sanctions could be further tightened if Russia's attacks escalate further.