Biden: G-7 Countries Will Ban Russian Gold in Response to Ukraine War

President Joe Biden announced on June 26 that the Group of Seven countries will ban Russian gold in response to the conflict in Ukraine.

“The United States has imposed unprecedented costs on Putin to deny him the revenue he needs to fund his war against Ukraine,” Biden said. “Together, the G-7 will announce that we will ban the import of Russian gold, a major export that rakes in tens of billions of dollars for Russia.”

A formal announcement is scheduled for June 28, according to the White House.

Biden and other world leaders were meeting on the summit’s opening day to discuss how to secure energy supplies and tackle inflation, aiming to keep the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from splintering the global coalition working to punish Moscow.

In recent years, gold has been one of the top Russian exports after energy—reaching almost $19 billion, or about 5 percent of global gold exports, in 2020, according to the White House. The United States imported less than $200 million in gold from Russia in 2019, and under $1 million in 2020 and 2021.

Earlier on June 26, Russian missiles struck an area in Kyiv, killing at least one person, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said.

“The Russians hit Kyiv again. Missiles damaged an apartment building and a kindergarten. Russia should be designated a state sponsor of terrorism ASAP,” Andriy Yermak wrote on Twitter, adding that Ukraine “needs modern missile defense systems badly.”

Also June 26, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson seemed to make note of the lack of attention that’s being focused on Ukraine—especially amid decades-high inflation and gas prices.

CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Johnson a leading question about how the United States and the West could “combat Ukraine fatigue at a time when so many Western nations are struggling with

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