While speculation abounds about how the United States and Russia might hurt each other economically if the spat over Ukraine intensifies, it's unlikely Russia could do much damage to the U.S. Treasury market.

That's because it only owned $132 billion of Treasurys as of Jan. 31, putting Russia 12th on the list of foreign holders. China heads the list with $1.3 trillion.

The United States may be unable to freeze Russia's Treasury holdings, because it is thought to have moved them out of the Federal Reserve, according to CNNMoney.

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The Fed reported last week that the amount of Treasurys it held for foreign governments dropped by $105 billion, a weekly record. Bond experts think those were Russia's Treasurys and that the bonds were merely moved rather than sold, CNNMoney reports.

"It's speculation but it appears that the Russians decided to move some Treasurys to some place a little farther removed from Treasury's reach," Lou Crandall of Wrightson ICAP tells the news service. "If that much had been dumped in outright sales, it would have been noticed by the market."

Russian selling would have limited impact, given the small size of its holdings, Crandall notes.

So where might Russia have sent its Treasurys?

"If they did transfer these assets out of the Fed, they could have gone to Russian banks or any other offshore bank that provides custodian services," Anthony Cronin, a Treasury bond trader at Societe Generale, tells The Wall Street Journal.

Once moved out of the Fed, Russia would be able to sell its holdings even if the United States imposes sanctions on the country, The Journal explains.

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