RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin urged "decisive action" Saturday to support Ukraine after Russia's invasion of the country and called for the Virginia Retirement System and university endowments funds to "divest any Russian holdings immediately."
Youngkin also called for an immediate review by the Department of General Services to see if the state purchases any goods and services linked to Russian companies.
The governor also asked the mayors of Norfolk and Roanoke to "end sister city partnerships with Russian cities."
“The invasion of Ukraine by Soviet dictator Vladimir Putin cannot stand, and the people of the Commonwealth are ready to rally in opposition to this senseless attack on a sovereign nation and western ideals," Youngkin said. “Today, we are acting to show our solidarity with the Ukrainian people as they defend their country. And while these are important steps, it is incumbent upon President Biden to take a stronger, more decisive leadership position to end this war.”
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Youngkin's call for action came as the U.S. and its allies agreed to block “selected" Russian banks from the SWIFT global financial messaging system on Saturday.
SWIFT is an independent enterprise that serves as an internal messaging system between banks and financial institutions in more than 200 countries and territories.
The disconnection from SWIFT is partial, leaving Europe and the U.S. room to escalate penalties further later.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the measures would push the bloc to “paralyze the assets of Russia’s Central bank” so that its transactions would be frozen.
This is not the first time allies have considered blocking Russia from SWIFT.
It was also considered in 2014, when Russia invaded and annexed Ukraine’s Crimea and backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.
There was hesitancy in blocking Russia from the system because it will likely hurt other world economies, including those of the U.S. and Germany.
The U.S., E.U. and Canada also announced on Saturday that they will impose restrictive measures that will prevent the Russian Central Bank from using international reserves.
Countries also plan to restrict the sale of so-called “golden passports”, which allow wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government to become citizens of other countries and gain access to financial systems.
Experts believe this latest round of sanctions will hurt Russia’s economy and reinforce other sanctions.