U.S. and EU Say ‘Selected Russian Banks’ to Be Cut Off From SWIFT

The United States, alongside France, Italy, Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom, has at long last agreed to kick some Russian banks off SWIFT, a global payments network. “This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally,” the White House said in a statement late Saturday. The missive did not clarify which Russian banks and officials will be affected, CNN reports. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had been calling for the measure, which will economically cripple the Russian Central Bank, as Vladimir Putin’s forces attack the nation. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had encouraged Zelensky in a phone call earlier Saturday, claiming he was confident Russia would soon be booted from the network. Zelensky reportedly responded, “You know your Shakespeare, so the question is, ‘to SWIFT or not to SWIFT.’” The EU had failed to enforce the ban at a meeting on Thursday, drawing outcry from Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who tweeted that anyone who did not support the ban had “the blood of innocent Ukrainian men, women and children” on their hands.