The Tactics of the West Are Working

The new sanctions announced by President Obama can no longer be called toothless. They are very precise — they affect President Putin’s closest circle of associates who are responsible for preparing and financing the Crimea invasion.

It is difficult for laymen to understand, but sanctions are like grenades — the explosion is one thing, but the shrapnel can lead to even greater damage and cause further explosions. This is what happened when clients of four Russian banks woke up on Friday morning to discover that the credit cards in their wallets had become worthless pieces of plastic.

There are known politicians, military men and businessmen on the U.S. and EU list. Most of them have bank accounts, real estate and shares in companies registered outside of Russia that are, successfully or less so, hidden from the West. Even an innocent ban from entry to the EU will make their lives difficult. But it will also make difficult the lives of companies and persons connected with them, exactly as it happened with Gunvor Group, operating in Switzerland.*

The U.S. Treasury Department developed the list of sanctions in a way that would show the Kremlin that it is well informed about the network of financial connections in Moscow. This is the first blow and at the same time a warning that more strikes can come, aimed at precisely identified financial networks of the Russian ruling elite.

One of Russian politicians who was placed on the list of sanctions — according to information acquired by Rzeczpospolita — bought an elegant apartment in the center of Paris just two weeks ago. He was supposed to go there with his family in a week’s time. He is not going. Good.

Putin seized Crimea, but he lost Ukraine. Once the prime minister of Ukraine signed the Association Agreement with the EU in Brussels on Friday (March 21), Kiev officially fell out of the Russian sphere of influence. Russians can still, for a moment, enjoy the annexation of Crimea. Kiev, however, will now turn away from Moscow for a very long time.

It is up to the EU whether this return to the West is going to be permanent. The EU and the U.S. must continue to support Ukraine and seek help for her in other countries. The EU must speed up the negotiations with Moldova and still, bit by bit, impose economic and political sanctions on the Russian ruling elite.

Russia once again has decided to divide Europe. Let’s do for the East what we once wished the West would have done for us.

*Editor’s note: One of the Russian business figures sanctioned by the U.S. government, Gennady Timchenko, sold all of his shares in the commodities trading firm Gunvor Group the day before sanctions went into effect. He sold the shares to a Swedish citizen who was not sanctioned by the U.S.