They

 

knew all of this was coming and went ahead anyway.

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"

"...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.

(They knew this would come, they are a people used to hardship, for centuries, used to hardship)

"Under the new regime, all people in the United States and European Union are banned from trading with Russia’s central bank. The sanctions also apply to Russia’s Finance Ministry and its sovereign wealth fund. The U.S. and its allies were executing a hastily assembled strategy meant to squeeze Russia’s economy and make it very difficult for Russian leaders to tap money as it carried on its invasion of Ukraine for another day."

"The restrictions amount to choking off Russia from the international financial system."

"Private businesses have joined governments in the isolation of Russia. Facebook, Google and YouTube have announced plans to stop Russian state-media outlets from monetizing off their platforms. 

"Twitter announced Monday it would begin adding labels to tweets containing content from Russian state media websites."

(The discerning mind would want to know why werent they doing this before hand?)

Oil giant Shell said Monday it plans to dump its joint ventures with Russian gas giant Gazprom, making it the third major oil company to announce such a step. 

(Why were they still doing business after the Crimea annexation?) 

FedEx and UPS have announced they were halting deliveries to Russia and Ukraine, and the U.S. and foreign governments have moved to block much of the Russian banking system from key international markets.

(Escalation at this point is probably a mistake but it seems to be the road were on. More on this in a minute.)

"The E.U. has also announced it will shut down airspace to Russian planes and support Ukraine’s purchase of weapons.'

The U.S. and its allies have not blocked Russia from exporting energy, however, as Europe in particular heavily relies on Russian gas.

(Go figure right?)

The U.S. government said it was issuing an exemption allowing “certain energy-related transactions” with the central bank of Russia, as the West has tried to continue the flow of Russian energy exports to sustain the European economy and maintain gas prices.

(Interesting, how long you think that gonna last for?)

“The unprecedented action we are taking today will significantly limit Russia’s ability to use assets to finance its destabilizing activities, and target the funds [Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle depend on to enable his invasion of Ukraine,” Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said in a statement. “Today, in coordination with partners and allies, we are following through on key commitments to restrict Russia’s access to these valuable resources.”

"The punishments reflect the extraordinary outpouring of support for Ukraine in the West, but they also carry the risk of a further escalation in hostilities with Moscow."

(Oh you can count on it.)

“In one fell swoop, the U.S. and Europe have rendered Putin’s war chest unusable. … That the U.S. and Europe have done this in unified fashion sends a crystal-clear message that Russia will face dramatic costs so long as Putin’s war of aggression continues,” said Edward Fishman, former Russia and Europe sanctions lead at the State Department. “This action represents a sea change in U.S. and European strategy. Just 72 hours ago, a step like this was unthinkable.”

“The steps being announced will undermine Russia’s ability to prop up the ruble,” said Richard Nephew, a senior research scholar at Columbia University. “The Russians won’t be able to defend the currency easily, and its value will tank.”

(We always forget, They are not us! And are a people used to and willing to endure hardship.)

Mark Weisbrot, a liberal economist and a director at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said the sanctioning of the reserves could lead to an “economic collapse.”

“The Biden administration needs to de-escalate this conflict, and move toward a diplomatic solution before it is too late,” Weisbrot said. “Zelensky wants to negotiate without preconditions; Washington should do the same.”

(It already is to late, I thought it would be three months before we got to this point and here we are...72 hours later.)

"Adam Smith, a partner at Gibson Dunn and a former sanctions official in the Obama administration, said the attack on Russia’s central bank reflects just how quickly events have moved in Eastern Europe. Smith emphasized that such moves have typically been off the table because central banks play such a crucial role in a nation’s economy, noting that going after them includes “severe and potentially unknowable collateral effects.” In this case, Smith said it’s possible the sanctions will make it more difficult for Europe to buy oil and gas while also hurting the average Russian economically.

“It has historically been viewed as almost beyond the pale — the thing to do when sanctions, and diplomacy, have been seemingly exhausted,” Smith said. “That the international community was willing to go this far, and suffer the consequences of doing so … suggests just how far this crisis has gone in just its first week.”

“severe and potentially unknowable collateral effects.” 

You can count on it. We are acting like he can't hit our grid/ financial sector. Now the world awaits Putin's response. This is the part where it starts to get more dicey for us. If we were willing to do something that before today was considered "off the table?"

Whats to stop him from doing the same?

Batten the hatches, it's bout to be a rocky ride here soon.