Russia may be cut off from markets and tech goods, according to the EU's top official.

Russia may be cut off from markets and tech goods, according to the EU's top official.

According to a top European Union official, Moscow's access to financial markets and high-tech items would be restricted under Western sanctions in the event that Russia attacked Ukraine.

Ursula von der Leyen, the leader of the EU's Executive Commission, made the remarks as concerns over Russia's intentions toward Ukraine grew. President Joe Biden of the United States stated on Friday that he is "convinced" that Russian President Vladimir Putin has chosen to attack the neighboring nation.

"The Kremlin's dangerous thinking, which stems from a dark past, may cost Russia a prosperous future," von der Leyen said at the annual Munich Security Conference, which also featured US Vice President Kamala Harris.

With the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, Von der Leyen said the EU's executive arm has developed a "robust and comprehensive package" of possible financial sanctions against Russia.

"In the event that Russia attacks, we would restrict Russian economic access to financial markets and (impose) export controls, preventing Russia from modernizing and diversifying its economy," she warned. "And we have a lot of high-tech commodities in which we have worldwide supremacy, which are vitally important for Russia and cannot be readily replaced."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that the United Kingdom and the European Union were closely coordinating sanctions.

"If Russia invades its neighbor, we would penalize Russian people and firms of strategic importance to the Russian state, making it hard for them to raise funds on the London capital markets," says the statement "In Munich, he stated. Authorities will seek for "the ultimate benefactors" of Russian-owned corporations and entities, according to Johnson.

During a meeting with Putin on Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reportedly "made it clear that any further violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity will come at a significant political, economic, and geostrategic cost to Russia."

So yet, Western leaders haven't indicated what specific Russian behavior might result in penalties. After Biden spoke with various colleagues on Friday, a French official who was not permitted to be publicly identified and spoke on the condition of anonymity claimed they were discussing an invasion of area now under the authority of the government in Kyiv.

"The severe sanctions that we're talking about would be activated in the case of an invasion of this land," the official stated.

Parts of eastern Ukraine are controlled by pro-Russia rebels who have been battling Ukrainian forces since Russia invaded Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

After a conference in Munich with her counterparts from the Group of Seven industrial powers and Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was asked what Russian acts might warrant penalties.

"Any violation of Ukraine's integrity and sovereignty is a violation of Ukraine's integrity and sovereignty," stated Baerbock. "You can't claim one section of the country is a little more Ukraine and the other is a little less Ukraine."

Western leaders, she claimed, have made it clear that an invasion isn't the only possibility, and that they're "prepared for every event." "If you disclose your next five moves in public, you won't be especially effective," the German minister added, using a chess example.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated in Munich with other members of the US Congress that sanctions may encompass the SWIFT banking system, thus cutting Russia off from most international financial activities.

"That's still up for discussion," Pelosi stated.

Excluding Russia from SWIFT would have a negative impact on other economies, particularly that of the United States and vital partner Germany.

When asked if Congress would return early if Russia invaded Ukraine next week, Pelosi stated, "The president has the right to enforce those sanctions without the Congress."

Pelosi stated that whatever measures Russia takes, there will be a cost for what Putin has already done.

"You can't bully the world and then go for a stroll and be free," she remarked.

Geir Moulson contributed reporting from Berlin. Jill Lawless in London and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this story.