Russian President Vladimir Putin started sending troops to Ukraine on Thursday for a "military operation". US President Joe Biden, however, said that he won't put US boots on the ground to defend the eastern European nation. Biden has, so far, only threatened Russia with economic sanctions against launching an attack into Ukraine.

However, even that is not panning out the way Biden would have liked as the European Union (EU) is not on the same page concerning SWIFT -- The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. An important facilitator of international banking, SWIFT is used by more than 11,000 financial institutions and companies in over 200 countries and territories.

What is SWIFT?

SWIFT is a Belgium-based co-operative and is overseen by multiple government banking systems -- the European Central Bank, the National Bank of Belgium, and the US Federal Reserve System, among others.

Founded in 1973 to end reliance on the telex system, SWIFT is an international system used to send written messages, including orders and confirmations for payments, trades, and currency exchanges.

It's like Gmail for banks and international financial institutions. On an average, SWIFT delivers 40 million messages per day and facilitates trillions of dollars worth of transactions.

How will Russia be impacted if removed from SWIFT?

Without being able to access SWIFT, Russian banks would have to rely on outdated tech like fax and email for cross-border transactions. This would not only impede the pace of the process but also make it more costly. As a consequence, Russia's ability to participate in global trade would be hampered a great deal.

Given the heavy reliance of global financial institutions on SWIFT, some experts have said that preventing Russia from using the network would be equivalent to a nuclear attack on the country's economy. In a tweet, US lawmaker Senator Marsha Blackburn wrote, "We pray for the people of Ukraine as they defend against Putin’s attempt to rebuild the old Soviet Union. Biden must stand up to Putin and immediately levy severe sanctions against Russia — starting with removal from the SWIFT banking system. The USA stands with Ukraine."

We pray for the people of Ukraine as they defend against Putin’s attempt to rebuild the old Soviet Union. Biden must stand up to Putin and immediately levy severe sanctions against Russia — starting with removal from the SWIFT banking system.

The USA stands with Ukraine.