U.S. officials spent hundreds of hours over five months debating, crafting and then touting a punishing array of economic sanctions to try to scare Russian President Vladimir Putin off invading Ukraine, but almost from the beginning, many shared the same view: This strategy probably won¡¯t work.
Those concerns became reality Thursday after Putin announced a military operation to ¡°protect¡± the Donbas region of Ukraine, raising fears of an imminent, full-scale invasion across the entire country. In a late-night statement, U.S. President Joe Biden said that he would announce ¡°further consequences¡± for Russia later Thursday, in addition to sanctions unveiled earlier in the week.
Biden on Tuesday had set out a partial ¡°first tranche¡± of sanctions ¡ª a modest package that underwhelmed political observers and financial markets ¡ª then followed up with additional measures the following day, including sanctions against Nord Stream 2 AG, the company that built the $11 billion natural gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany. Biden¡¯s aides have said they¡¯re holding heavier punishments in store ¡ª but behind the scenes, there¡¯s persistent skepticism about the strategy.
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