Sanctions against Russia
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Sanctions seem to have trickled down to some:
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Is this a big deal?
Canada Announces Ban On Export Of Services Vital For Russian Oil, Gas & Chemical Sector
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Canada on Wednesday, 8 June, announced sanctions against the export of 28 services "vital" for the operation of the oil, gas, and chemical industries, including accounting and advertising. The ban on exports of oil, gas and chemical services targets industries that are estimated to have about 50% of Russia's budget revenues.
The latest round of sanctions has been announced by the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Melania Joly.
According to the Canadian government's release, the sanctions have been announced by Canada to exert further pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw its forces from Ukraine. In the release, the Canadian government stressed that they continue to believe that "Ukrainians deserve to live in peace" and called on the Russian administration to stop the war in Ukraine.
According to the release, the sanctions will decrease the ability of Russia to wage war against Ukraine. The Canadian government in the release said that they have imposed sanctions against more than 1,070 individuals and entities since Russia began its offensive in Ukraine. Melanie Joly in the release said that the Russian military offensive in Ukraine continues for more than 100 days. Joly added that they will make every effort to prevent Russia's ability to fund its "war machine." Ever since Russian military offensive in Ukraine, Canada has been providing military and humanitarian assistance to Kyiv.
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Noticed that Russian oil is still flowing into Europe with little impediment...
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Russian Ruble is at strongest level in 7 years because Russia is making big foreign account surplus and Russian central bank has risen interest rate a lot after Russia started the war with Ukraine (but interest rate has come back down recently).
Why the foreign account surplus? Because of high global energy prices — Russia is exporting smaller volume of oil export due to sanctions, but because global oil prices are much higher, Russia is making more money anyway even when selling less. And because of sanctions and Russia’s own capital control restrictions, Russians cannot import many things. So the money just accumulates inside Russia. The article suggests that, even with the Ruble being “strong” on paper, it’s not doing the Russians much good since they cannot actually spend it on much of anything.
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Networking giant Cisco will wind down its businesses in Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.
The company first suspended its operations in the two countries back in March 2022 alongside several other major technology and mobile companies, condemning the “unjustified war” and the violence against civilians.
Apple, Ericsson, Microsoft and Nokia are among the most notable firms to take action since the start of the invasion. Now Cisco has decided to make its stance permanent and has started the process of withdrawal.
“Since our announcement on March 3, we have continued to closely monitor the war in Ukraine,” the company said in a statement on its website.
“We have now made the decision to begin an orderly wind-down of our business in Russia and Belarus.
“We are focused on ensuring impacted employees in Russia and Belarus are treated with respect and have our support through this transition. Cisco remains committed to using all its resources to help our employees, the institutions and people of Ukraine, and our customers and partners during this challenging time.
“We will communicate directly with customers, partners, and vendors to settle our financial matters, including refunding prepaid service and software arrangements, to the extent permissible under applicable laws and regulations.”
Earlier this week it was reported that users in Russia could not download Windows 10 or Windows 11.