What can the West do about this? It’s very difficult to say. I also think he has disdain for the West and Western leaders, whom he deems weak and disunited. I think he's also motivated by an almost semi-religious belief that Ukraine must be with Russia, must be in Russia's orbit, and Russia as a great power has the right to its own sphere of influence. I think Vladimir Putin is fuelled by resentment at how the Cold War ended, with the West declaring victory and Russia losing power, influence and territory. Meanwhile, the invasion of Ukraine continues. It wants economic pressure to force a change in Putin’s political and military calculations. They do increase pressure, and they can do damage.īut the international community is not trying to damage the Russian economy just for the sake of doing so. Suspending Russia from Swift is still under consideration, but the hesitation is a reminder that in a globalised world all sanctions tend to have an impact on the countries imposing them as well.Īnd the real trouble with sanctions is that they don’t work quickly. The US and the UK are in favour of such a move, but some European countries fear it could damage their own banks. But another major bank, Sberbank, was not mentioned.Īnd the Ukrainian government wanted more – in particular moves to disconnect Russia from the international payment system known as Swift, which thousands of banks use to exchange information. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said sanctions against major Russian banks include one of the largest state banks, VTB, which will have all its assets frozen. These new measures will hit the Russian economy much harder. There was plenty of criticism that Western sanctions in the days leading up to this invasion did not go far enough, fast enough. Getty Images Copyright: Getty Images The Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would bring gas to Germany has shuttered amid the latest fighting Image caption: The Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would bring gas to Germany has shuttered amid the latest fighting It could release and disperse radioactive material in the local area, she said. Prof Corkhill said that although piercing one of these structures wouldn’t necessarily cause a repeat of the Chernobyl disaster - where plumes of radioactive material dispersed across Europe - it could “set us back 30 years in terms of the work that has been done clearing up the site”.
“These buildings are designed to keep radioactive materials inside, but they’re not necessarily armoured they’re not designed to operate in a war zone,” she said. The Chernobyl site contains several nuclear waste containment facilities - including the “new safe confinement” - the protective dome that covers the reactor that was so badly damaged by the infamous 1986 explosion. “This is not a place to have ammunition flying around," she said. Prof Claire Corkhill, nuclear materials expert at Sheffield University, told the BBC about the dangers of military clashes taking place near the site. Russian forces have taken control of Chernobyl, site of the 1986 nuclear disaster and a place that remains radioactive to this day - prompting significant concern from international nuclear watchdogs.
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