Ukraine urges countries to cut Russia off from SWIFT payments system

KYIV – Ukraine’s foreign minister on Thursday urged countries to ban Russia from the SWIFT global interbank payments system – one of the toughest non-military sanctions the West could impose – to punish Moscow for sending troops into Ukraine.

European Union leaders will impose new sanctions on Russia, freezing its assets, halting its banks’ access to European financial markets and targeting “Kremlin interests” over its invasion of Ukraine, senior officials said on Thursday, but cutting Russia off from SWIFT is unlikely to happen at this stage.

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Alison Williams)