Here are your FOX Business headlines.
Germany has agreed to separate Russia from the SWIFT international banking system, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said at a news conference on Saturday.
The news – which the Lithuanian president described as “a big step forward” – comes after a meeting between Nauseda and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomes President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, to talks about the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the Chancellor of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, in Berlin, Germany, Saturday (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber/AP) newsroom) )
Russia invades Ukraine: Live Updates
“We have recognized that our fellow allies are now looking at things in a different way,” the Lithuanian president said. “The process has already started.
“Several months ago only the Baltic states and one other state supported Russia’s disconnection from Swift,” he continued. “Today, most countries support this move and I know that Germany is also getting ready to separate Russia from SWIFT. This is a big step.”
Russia launched a full-scale offensive in Ukraine on Thursday and Western countries responded with a series of severe sanctions not only against Russian banks and businesses but against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called for Russia to be removed from the SWIFT international banking system – a move that would essentially bar Moscow from the top financial network.
The international program allows banks around the world to communicate with each other securely and efficiently and it facilitates cross-border transactions worth trillions of dollars.
Ukrainian soldiers walk over the pieces of a downed aircraft seen in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, February 25, 2022. It was not clear which plane crashed and brought it down amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine Russia is suppressing its invasion of Ukraine (AP Photo/Alexander Ratushniak/AP Newsroom)
Ukraine’s mother pleads with bomb shelter for help: ‘Please intervene with force’
But in the second round of sanctions announced by the US and the EU earlier this week, the SWIFT ban was not included – mainly because top EU countries such as Germany reportedly resisted the push.
In a reversal of another stance, Scholz on Saturday agreed to send defensive military aid to Ukraine as Russian forces continue to batter the nation.
“The Russian offensive is a turning point. It is our duty to support Ukraine to the best of our ability in defending against Putin’s invading forces,” the German chancellor said in a statement. Tweet, “That’s why we are delivering 1000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles to our friends in Ukraine.”
Click here to get Fox News App
CRIMEA, RUSSIA – FEBRUARY 24, 2022: Soldiers board a truck at Perekop checkpoint on the border with Ukraine. Early on February 24, President Putin announced the launch of a special military operation by the Russian Armed Forces in response to (Sergey Malgavko\TASS via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The announcement was supported by Zelensky, who mocked Germany’s weak support after agreeing to send 5,000 helmets to help in the war against Russia.
“Germany has announced the provision of anti-tank grenade launchers and Stinger missiles to Ukraine. Keep it up, Chancellor Scholz,” he said.
