TOKYO: In a development likely to have serious consequences for Moscow, Tokyo has decided to join Western nations in removing selected Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

In another damaging development for Russia, European nations and Canada moved on Sunday to shut their airspace to Russian aircraft, an unprecedented step aimed at pressuring President Vladimir Putin to end the fighting in the neighbouring country.

In a statement, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said: “In what was released this morning by the Western nations, steps are taken to isolate Russia from the international financial system and the world economy, including exclusion of specific Russian banks from SWIFT.”

“Western nations have requested Japan (to) participate. Japan will join this initiative,” he added.

SWIFT’s messaging system allows banks to communicate rapidly and securely about transactions, and cutting Russia off would cripple its trade with most of the world.

The Ukrainian president had asked the international community to sever Russia from the SWIFT system.

The Japanese prime minister also announced Japan would seek to identify and freeze assets belonging to President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials.

Bans on use of airspace

Germany and France joined Britain, the Nordics and Baltic states in announcing bans on Russian use of their airspace, a major escalation in a tactic by mostly Nato allies to wage economic war against Putin.

Russia is now widely expected to further retaliate against the air blockades and other sanctions. It has already responded to the earliest European airspace bans with its own edicts barring airlines from Britain, Bulgaria and Poland.

Without access to Russia’s airways, experts say carriers face diverting flights south while also avoiding areas of tension in the Middle East — adding significant time and cost.

Germany’s transport ministry said it would close airspace to Russian planes and airlines for three months from Sunday, with the exception of humanitarian aid flights. Canada also announced it had shut its airspace to Russian aircraft effective immediately.

‘Long war’

The Russia-Ukraine conflict could last a “number of years”, warned British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Sunday. “I fear this will be a long haul, this could be a number of years,” she told Sky News.

“Russia has strong forces and we know the Ukrainians are brave, they are determined to stand up for their sovereignty and territorial integrity and they are determined to fight,” she said.

The minister said that intelligence showed that Ukrainian forces were “continuing to resist Russian advances” and that there had not been “significant changes” overnight. But she warned Russian President Vladimir Putin could deploy more deadly weapons.

“This could well be the beginning of the end for Putin and I fear that he is determined to use the most unsavoury means in this war. I fear this conflict could be very, very bloody. We do need to be prepared for Russia to seek to use even worse weapons,” she added.

However, Putin “should be aware the International Criminal Court is already looking at what is happening in Ukraine and there will be serious consequences for him personally”, she told the news channel.

Britain has provided Ukraine with lethal defence weapons and applied sanctions to Kremlin-linked tycoons and businesses.

Massive protest

More than 100,000 people turned up at a march in Berlin in solidarity with Ukraine, police said, with many protesters dressed in the blue and yellow colours of the Ukraine flag.

Police estimated the turnout at “at least a low six-number figure”, while organisers of the march said half a million had turned up.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2022