President Joe Biden, who used his first State of the Union address to label Vladimir Putin a “dictator,” signaled Wednesday that he’s open to imposing restrictions on oil and gas imports to the U.S. Russia’s military advance continued, with its Defense Ministry saying it captured the Black Sea port city of Kherson as units moved further into southern Ukraine. A top Russian official warned that increased weapons supplies to Ukraine could raise the risk of an inadvertent conflict with NATO. For its part, Ukraine said a second round of talks were possible as early as Wednesday. Russian markets continued to be roiled, with investors scrambling to find out whether the country’s bonds are in default. European natural gas hit a new record, alongside soaring prices for wheat and corn.
Key Developments
- Commodities Hit New Highs as Traders Shun Russian Purchases
- Russian Markets Break Down With Cash Frozen at the Border
- Russian Default Angst Lingers Despite Ruble Bond Coupon Payment
- Fog of Cyberwar Grips Ukraine and Russia With Only Bad Outcomes
- Ukraine to Hike Interest Rates Sharply in Face of Russia War
- U.S. Task Force to Target Oligarchs’ Assets
The U.S. Justice Department announced details of a new task force designed to enforce sanctions and export restrictions and to seize luxury assets belonging to Russia’s wealthiest citizens. The “KleptoCapture” task force will gather experts in sanctions and export control enforcement, anti-corruption, asset forfeiture, anti-money laundering, tax enforcement, national security investigations, and foreign evidence collection, DOJ said in a statement on Wednesday. “To those bolstering the Russian regime through corruption and sanctions evasion: We will deprive you of safe haven and hold you accountable,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said. “Oligarchs be warned: we will use every tool to freeze and seize your criminal proceeds.” Biden Says U.S. Is Open to Banning Russian Oil, Gas.
President Biden said he’s open to implementing a ban on importing Russian oil and gas, a move that may force up already high prices for American consumers.
“Nothing is off the table,” Biden said as he departed the White House for a trip to Wisconsin. The leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania called on the public not to punish their countries’ ethnic-Russian minorities for the Kremlin-led invasion of Ukraine. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas warned against stoking tensions with Estonia’s large Russian-speaking population, saying “this is Putin’s war and the Russian people should not be punished for it.” Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte called her country’s Russian-speaking residents patriots and Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said “if we start to turn against the Russians as a people, we will be shooting ourselves in the foot.” The European Union is looking at ways to limit access to its ports and waters for Russian vessels, according to people familiar with the discussions, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The EU’s trade chief, Valdis Dombrovskis, told European lawmakers on Monday that there was “some work ongoing” to explore sanctions on Russia’s maritime sector, without giving any details as these measures are not part of his dossier. European natural gas prices eased after soaring as much as 60% and crude oil topped $110 a barrel amid concerns over Russian supply. OPEC and its allies essentially disregarded the issue at a meeting Wednesday, with delegates saying there was no mention of Russian oil supplies being disrupted. The risks of inadvertent conflict between Russia and NATO are rising with increased supplies of weapons to Ukraine by alliance members, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said, according to Interfax. “There’s no guarantee that there won’t be some kind of incident, there’s no guarantee that an incident might not escalate,” Grushko told state television.