On Sunday, February 27, she instructed “all New York State agencies and authorities to review and divest public funds from Russia” due to “Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine.” She then signed an executive order making the effort official, effective immediately and until “such time as the sanctions imposed by the federal government are no longer in effect.”
Currently, the Biden Administration has several sanctions in place — together with other European countries — most recently ones that prevent Americans from making any transactions with the Russian central bank, Russia’s National Wealth Fund or the Russian Ministry of Finance.
In New York, we won’t let our money support Russia’s human rights violations—that’s why I’m proud to sign an executive order today directing State agencies to divest.https://t.co/GzkDJ2dEDj
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) February 28, 2022
The New York order would prevent the State from doing any kind of business with Russian-owned companies.
“Russia has chosen to attack democracy and we will stand with Ukraine as we condemn these atrocities,” she said in a press conference.
Our state will not permit its own investment activity, whether directly or indirectly, to aid Russia as it commits these human rights violations. New York is home to the largest population of Ukrainians in the United States – they are our family and an attack on them is an attack on us all. We will make our statements and values known and show solidarity with Ukraine as we rebuke this assault on democracy.
The action followed a weekend full of NY monuments lighting up in the colors of the Ukrainian flag, blue and yellow, in a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Tons of New Yorkers also showed out to support Ukrainian restaurants, or to show their solidarity with demonstrations in Times Square.