- BP is giving up its stake in Rosneft at a cost of up to $25 billion
- Russian-origin companies are under increasing pressure
- EU chief of industry asks Alphabet to block war propaganda accounts
- The battle between Russia and major tech companies is expected to deepen
- Financial sanctions aimed at isolating the Russian economy
Feb 28 (Reuters) – Energy giant BP has opened a new front in the West’s campaign to isolate Russia’s economy, with its decision to withdraw from the oil-rich country, the most aggressive move yet by a company in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Western allies have stepped up efforts to punish Russia with new sanctions, including closing their airspace to Russian aircraft, cutting some of its banks from the SWIFT financial network, and limiting Moscow’s ability to deploy its $630 billion foreign reserves — measures expected to crush the country. Economie. Read more
The ruble fell nearly 30% to an all-time low against the dollar on Monday. Read more
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BP, Russia’s largest foreign investor, said it would give up its stake in state oil company Rosneft. (ROSN.MM) At a cost of up to $25 billion, it is halving its oil and gas reserves. Read more
The British company’s surprise move highlights other Western companies with operations in Russia amid growing pressure from governments to tighten the financial noose on Moscow after it launched the biggest attack on a European country since World War Two. Read more
Equinor Energy Group (EQNR.OL)The majority Norwegian state-owned said on Monday it would start withdrawing its investment in its joint ventures in Russia. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, will also divest its Russian assets, which are worth about 25 billion Norwegian kroner ($2.80 billion). Read more
In a video call on Sunday, the head of the European Union’s internal market told Alphabet CEOs (GOOGL.O) and its YouTube unit to ban users who promote war propaganda as part of measures to stop misinformation about Ukraine.
A 3D-printed natural gas pipeline is placed in front of the BP logo displayed in this illustration taken on February 8, 2022. REUTERS / Dado Ruvic / Illustration
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The European Union has banned Russian media outlets RT, Sputnik, Alphabet’s Google and Russia’s state-owned RT and other channels from receiving money for ads on their websites, apps and YouTube videos, similar to the move Facebook took after the invasion. Read more
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In an unprecedented move, European countries and Canada have moved to close their airspace to Russian aircraft and the United States is considering similar action, according to US officials.
United Parcel Service Inc. is based in the United States (UPS.N) and FedEx Corp (FDX.N)Two of the world’s largest logistics companies said they have suspended delivery service to Russia and Ukraine. Read more
Large parts of the Russian economy will be a no-go zone for Western banks and financial firms after the decision to isolate some of its banks from SWIFT, a secure messaging system used in trillions of dollars worth of transactions around the world.
Even neutral Switzerland will likely follow the European Union in punishing Russia and freezing Russian assets, its president said on Sunday. Read more
Russians queued at ATMs over the weekend, worried that the new sanctions would lead to cash shortages and disrupt payments. Read more
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Additional reporting by Ron Bosso and Dmitri Zhdanikov in London and Fu Yun Che in Brussels: Writing by Carmel Kremens: Editing by Grant McCall
Our criteria: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
