Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and its foreign affairs minister each called Thursday for the West to ban Russia from the SWIFT international banking system, a move that would provide a devastating blow for the Russian economy.

SWIFT is a global banking service that connects more than 11,000 financial institutions globally, enabling international financial transactions. With a ban, Russia could still participate in the international economy, but transactions will be much more difficult and costly without SWIFT.

“A package of additional tough sanctions against Russia from the EU is approaching. Discussed all the details with Emmanuel Macron. We demand the disconnection of Russia from SWIFT, the introduction of a no-fly zone over Ukraine and other effective steps to stop the aggressor”, - twitted Volodymyr Zelenskyy.