Russia has built up the fourth-largest foreign currency reserves in the world at more than $630 billion while shifting away from US dollar holdings. Both moves provide a buffer from US sanctions, even as the sweeping package unleashed this week has already created significant disruption across the Russian economy.
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"We are collectively planning to impose measures to ensure Russia cannot use its central bank reserves to support its currency, and thereby undermine the impact of our sanctions," the official said. "This will show that Russia's supposed sanctions-proofing of its economy is a myth. The $600 billion-plus war chest of Russia's foreign reserves is only powerful if Putin can use it, and without being able to buy the ruble from Western financial institutions, for example, Putin's central bank will lose the ability to offset the impact of our sanctions."
