The headline post on this is here:
- Treasury Department had been allowing the Russian government to use foreign currency reserves held by the Russian central bank at U.S. financial institutions to make coupon payments on dollar-denominated sovereign debt on a case-by-case basis.
- On Monday ... the U.S. government decided to cut off Moscow's access to the frozen funds, according to a U.S. Treasury spokesperson.
- The move was meant to force Moscow to make the difficult decision of whether it would use dollars that it has access to for payments on its debt or for other purposes, including supporting its war effort, the spokesperson said.
- Russia faces a historic default if it chooses to not do so.
Biden is cranking up the pressure on Russia.
