Ukraine: Russian Government Official Issues Warning Over Sanctions

A Russian government official has issued a warning regarding the sanctions imposed on the country following President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Dmitry Medvedev, a deputy head of Russia's Security Council, tweeted a response to sanctions imposed on the country.

The news comes as Russia was banned from the SWIFT banking system over the weekend, and UK prime minister Boris Johnson said he was ready to 'intensify' sanctions further.

Today, March 1, Medvedev tweeted in response to a comment by French finance minister Bruno Le Maire, in which he told French radio the European Union (EU) was going to unleash an economic and financial war on Russia, as per Sky News.

Medvedev's tweet read: 'Today, some French minister has said that they declared an economic war on Russia. Watch your tongue, gentlemen! And don’t forget that in human history, economic wars quite often turned into real ones'.

Medvedev served as a placeholder for Putin when he had to shift to the role of prime minister in 2008 to 2012 due to term limits.

On Saturday, February 26, Russia was banned from SWIFT, a high security network that facilitates monetary transactions across the globe, a move intended to 'harm their [Russia's] ability to operate globally', as it will delay payments Russia receives for exports like oil and gas.

Alongside this, sanctions targeting Russia's finance, energy and military-industrial sectors have also been imposed.

Namely, Russia's central bank has been targeted, with Western leaders agreeing to freeze its assets to limit its ability to access $630 billion in international dollar reserves.

In conjunction with this, all major Russian banks are being excluded from the UK's financial system.

Exports to Russia have also been targets, with the EU, US and UK announcing restrictions of which products can be sent into the country.

These products include things that have dual civilian and military use, such as high-tech items and certain chemicals.

Individuals will also be targets under the sanctions with a 'hit list' of oligarchs being subject to sanctions.

The EU, US, UK and Canada have announced a task force dedicated to identifying and freezing the assets of individuals and companies.

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