The United States threatened Russia with more extensive sanctions than in 2014

The United States is preparing to take a series of sanctions measures against Russia in the event of an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, it will include both export restrictions and financial ones, a US administration official said at a special briefing, Reuters and RIA Novosti reported. At the same time, the official explained that as a result, larger-scale consequences for Moscow are expected, which were not considered in 2014.

“We are ready to impose sanctions with large-scale consequences that we did not consider in 2014 [year]. This means that there will no longer be a phased [introduction]. This time we will start from the very top and stay there,” he said. At the same time, the official recalled that at that time Russia was faced with a “record outflow” of foreign capital and a collapse of the ruble, which forced the Central Bank to “use 25% of its reserves to protect” the national currency. This time, he said, Washington is considering tougher measures.

The sanctions package that the United States is preparing includes financial sanctions that limit the inflow of foreign capital, as well as export restrictions, the administration official explained.

“Like financial sanctions that restrict foreign capital, export controls deprive Russia of something it needs and cannot easily replace from anywhere else. In the case of export controls, we are talking about complex technologies. What we develop and produce is a significant contribution to Russia's strategic ambitions. Therefore, these export controls can be viewed as trade restrictions within the broader US national security interests, ”he said (quoted by TASS).