Cutting Russian banks out of the Swift international banking system has gotten a lot of attention, but, as Bloomberg’s Javier Blas points out, there is a glaring hole:

UPDATED 3: The White House, in call with reporters tonight, made very clear that it's actively making sure that the SWIFT move against Russia does NOT impact energy payments, using two potential paths | #OOTT #ONGT #Ukraine

The below is from Biden administration senior official pic.twitter.com/W6n2bkGKgH

— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) February 26, 2022

Crude oil prices rose in early trading Monday as traders tried to protect themselves from reduced exports from Russia, the world’s second-largest exporter of crude oil. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded up about 4.7% at $95.79 a barrel, while Brent traded up about 4.6% at $98.46.

As for the negotiations between the Ukrainians and the Russians, the Ukrainian interior ministry said that Russian shelling in Kharkiv continues while the negotiations are ongoing. The former President of Estonia, Toomas Hendrick Ilves, addresses Russia’s foreign ministry directly:

I can say with no need for politeness, @mfa_russia, you are disgusting pigs. As are all your shills who said Ukrainians were Nazis. You did this.

It's not going to be just war crimes you swine will spend your depleted pensions on, it will be for genocide. https://t.co/J1ta44zdxF

— toomas hendrik ilves (@IlvesToomas) February 28, 2022

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