NBU Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko has appealed to the central banks of Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Switzerland, as well as the European Central Bank, to review and sever all correspondent relations with all banks in russia and belarus. The appeal includes a request to give relevant instructions to all banks in these countries.
The Swiss Confederation, the UK, the U.S., and the EU have imposed sanctions on some russian banks in response to russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. In particular, they froze assets, banned access to financial resources with maturities exceeding a certain threshold, and restricted correspondent relations. However, the invaders’ recent atrocities in Ukraine clearly demonstrate that the russian army, with the assistance of belarus, has changed its tactics to deliberately target the civilian population and infrastructure. This comes as a gross violation of international law, the UN Charter, the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Rules of War, and the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. These acts of russian war criminals are evidence that the sanctions introduced up until now have not been sufficient. After all, these individuals continue to receive funding, including through their countries’ banking institutions that have not yet come under the sanctions noted above, the NBU Governor said in his statement.
"We highly appreciate the international support we have already received. However, we believe that the review and termination of correspondent relations with all russian and belarusian banks will put more pressure on the aggressors and make the most out of the sanctions already imposed," said Kyrylo Shevchenko.