MOSCOW, August 7 (RAPSI)- Gazprombank and Rosselkhozbank have requested government support in the wake of recently imposed sanctions, Vedomosti reports.

A government official reports that Rosselkhozbank is requesting some 100 billion rubles ($2.8 bn), and is also expecting assistance to compensate for lost funding from abroad. The only possible source, according to the official, would be the Russian National Welfare Fund, which has its limits and won’t be able to help every bank requesting aid.

Regarding Gazprombank, the official suggested that Gazprombank sell 40 billion rubles ($1.1 bn) worth of preferred stock to the National Welfare Fund to raise capital. As Gazprombank is not a state-run bank, the government is not obligated to support it.

A representative of the Finance Ministry, for its part, said that the banks will have to provide justification to receive government assistance.

The European Union, the United States, Canada and Japan have compiled sanctions lists against Russian companies, banks and politicians, including the freezing of bank accounts, bans on individual entry and refusal to purchase Russian goods. The sanctions have been linked to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly denied all the allegations saying it never interfered with Ukrainian internal affairs and has stressed that the sanctions policy is unacceptable and counterproductive.