US sanctions to hit 7 Russian banks

New sanctions are expected to be imposed today.

The United States plans to limit the access of Russia's Sberbank and other six banks to US debt and equity markets to punish Moscow for its intervention in Ukraine, Reuters cites sources familiar with the matter.

It became known yesterday that the US sanctions against Russia would hit the Russian energy, financial and defense sectors. The White House is ready to lift these sanctions if Russia fully implements its commitments, Barack Obama said in a statement published on the White House's website on September 11.

“Together with G-7 and European partners and our other Allies, we have made clear that we are prepared to impose mounting costs on Russia. We are implementing these new measures in light of Russia’s actions to further destabilize Ukraine,” Barack Obama said.

Washington is watching closely developments since the announcement of the ceasefire and agreement in Minsk, but there are no conclusive evidence that Russia has ceased its efforts to destabilize Ukraine, according to Obama.

In July 2014, the US blocked access to US debt and equity markets for five Russian financial groups – VTB Bank, Gazprombank, Vnesheconombank (VEB), Bank of Moscow and Russian Agriculture Bank (Rosselkhozbank).