By Louis Chan, AsAmNews National Correspondent
Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh announced new sanctions against Russia Thursday morning in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.
In less than 24 hours, the attack has led to the deaths of 40 Ukrainian soldiers, according to the Ukrainian Presidency.
In retaliation, the Indian American announced the closure of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline and moves to prevent the Russian financial institutions, V.E.B and Promsvyazbank, from participating in the global financial system.
Together, V.E.B. and Promsvyazbank hold $85 billion in assets.
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“No Russian financial institution is safe if the invasion proceeds. We are ready to press a button to take action on the two largest Russian financial institutions, which collectively hold almost $750 billion in assets – or more than half of the total in the Russian banking system,” Singh warned.
He said already the US and its allies in Europe have cut off the Russian government, the Russian Central Bank, and Russian sovereign wealth funds from new financing from the U.S. and Europe.
“This was the beginning of an invasion, and this is the beginning of our response. If Putin escalates further, we will escalate further using financial sanctions and export controls, which we’ve yet to unveil but which are fully prepared to implement with Allies and partners across the world,” he said.
According to the American Bazaar, Singh is the great grand-nephew of Daleep Singh Saund, the first Indian American and Asian American to serve in Congress in 1957. He grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina and is a native of Olney, Maryland.
President Biden named him one of his senior advisors last year in February. He also worked for the Obama administration from 2011 to 2017 in the Department of Treasury.
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