World Bank President David Malpass has said Western sanctions against Russia will have a greater impact on the global economy than the Ukraine war.

The head of the World Bank added that the devaluation of the Russian currency brings back memories of the communist regime, pointing out that Russia has a huge foreign debt and it will have to decide what to do about it.

David Malpass also said it was too early to think about helping Russia given it was continuing its invasion of Ukraine.

On Monday, the World Bank announced the availability of $200 million in additional funding to strengthen social services for people in need in Ukraine, above the $723 million it approved last week.

This funding is part of a $3 billion support package that the World Bank previously announced it was preparing to provide to Ukraine over the coming months.

David Malpass told a virtual forum hosted by the Washington Post that the bank hoped to finalize the $3 billion package within six to eight weeks to help Ukraine cover its needs.

"Ukraine suffers from the same economic slowdown and the difficulty of harvesting crops in the fields," he said, adding that Russian forces were trying to prevent food and money from reaching Ukrainian farmers.

Malpass added that the rebuilding effort would include highways, bridges and other major infrastructure facilities.

"That amounts to tens of billions of dollars."

For its part, the International Monetary Fund said in a report published today, Monday, that Ukraine's economy is expected to contract by 10% in 2022 due to the Russian war, but the outlook may deteriorate sharply if the war continues for a longer period.

The fund added that Ukraine's economic output could shrink by 25% to 35% if the conflict was prolonged.


Fourth package of sanctions against Russia

Meanwhile, the office of the French presidency of the European Union said on Monday that the European Union countries had agreed to a fourth package of sanctions against Russia in the wake of its war on Ukraine.

Details of the sanctions were not disclosed, but the French presidency said on Twitter that Russia's "most favored country" status in trade would be revoked.

This could open the door - according to Reuters - for the 27-nation bloc to ban or impose punitive tariffs on Russian goods, and put Russia on a par with North Korea or Iran.

The sanctions are expected to include a ban on importing iron and steel from Russia, a ban on the export of luxury goods, including cars worth more than 50,000 euros (55,000 dollars), and a ban on investment in oil companies and the energy sector, according to diplomatic sources.

Diplomats said earlier in the day that the sanctions would also add Roman Abramovich, owner of British soccer club Chelsea, and 14 others to the European Union's list of Russian billionaires affected by sanctions.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was working to suspend Russia's membership rights in multilateral institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The new sanctions will officially take effect once they are published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

A complete trade embargo on Russia is an option

In the United States of America, Wali Adeemo, Deputy Secretary of the US Treasury, said that imposing a complete trade embargo on Russia and depriving it of international waterways are two options on the table.

In a tweet, CNBC correspondent Kayla Tauchi said: In an exclusive interview this morning, the US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury informed me about these actions: Imposing a complete trade embargo and denying Russia access to international waterways are two options that remain on the table. On the table".

And she continued, quoting him: In addition, the ban on nickel, uranium, titanium and crypto-assets of Russian entities, "as reported by Anadolu Agency.