STRASBURG, (Reuters) – Wednesday’s proposal by the European Commission to eliminate Russia’s biggest bank Sberbank as well as two other banks from international SWIFT transactions and messaging systems was made in an attempt to punish the Russian financial system for the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“We de-SWIFT Sberbank – by far Russia’s largest bank, and two other major banks. Ursula von der Leyen from the Commission stated that they hit all banks which are “systemically critical” to the Russian financial system, and Putin’s capability to wage ruin.

She stated that this would “solidify the total isolation of Russia’s financial sector from global systems.”