Biden Russian-Invasion Sanctions a Missed Opportunity

For months, the White House pledged that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would be met with crippling economic sanctions intended to isolate Moscow from financial markets. So after Russian president Vladimir Putin launched a brutal assault on the country, the Biden administration started to implement measures targeting Russia’s ability to wage war. “Now he and his country will bear the consequences,” Biden pledged at the White House today.

Will Russia actually face significant consequences? The president laid out a relatively forward-leaning sanctions package this afternoon, announcing steps to punish Russian banks and state-owned firms and impose costs on certain parts of Russia’s technology sector in conjunction with U.S. allies. That built on a relatively significant step taken earlier this week to prohibit U.S. entities from trading in Russian sovereign debt.

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Jimmy Quinn

Jimmy Quinn is the former national security correspondent for National Review.

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For months, the White House pledged that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would be met with crippling economic sanctions intended to isolate Moscow from financial markets. So after Russian president Vladimir Putin launched a brutal assault on the country, the Biden administration started to implement measures targeting Russia’s ability to wage war. “Now he and his country will bear the consequences,” Biden pledged at the White House today.

Will Russia actually face significant consequences? The president laid out a relatively forward-leaning sanctions package this afternoon, announcing steps to punish Russian banks and state-owned firms and impose costs on certain parts of Russia’s technology sector in conjunction with U.S. allies. That built on a relatively significant step taken earlier this week to prohibit U.S. entities from trading in Russian sovereign debt.