Western countries are stepping up economic sanctions against Vladimir Putin, his relatives, and the Russian economy. These sanctions are favored by the West in order to limit the financing capacities of the war.

Closure of airspace, freezing of assets of personalities or companies, prohibition of financial and commercial transactions, embargo on imports of Russian oil and gas; these are, among other things, the sanctions that Russia has been subjected to since the beginning of hostilities in Ukraine. The United States and the European Union, followed by other countries, have chosen to directly target the Russian central bank, prohibiting any transaction with the Russian monetary institution and immobilizing its foreign currency assets. Consequence: the ruble is in free fall against the dollar and withdrawals at counters have multiplied.

The country's main banks have been excluded from the Swift interbank system, an essential cog in global finance for communicating quickly and securely about transactions. In order to limit the risk of circumvention of sanctions, the G7 and EU countries are considering making specific provisions for cryptocurrencies, which many Russians have flocked to in the hope of finding a safe haven there.