America prepares the “mother of all sanctions” against Russia

HAVING ALLUS but ruled out engaging militarily with Russia, directly at least, were it to , the West’s main weapons are economic. This week America and Britain vowed measures on a scale never seen before. “The mother of all sanctions”, was how Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate’s foreign-relations committee, described the package being assembled by the chamber. President Joe Biden says Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart, has “never seen sanctions like the ones I promised will be imposed”. For sanctions to work, though, Western allies will need to show unity, and be willing to shoulder some economic pain themselves. History suggests that this may be their greatest challenge.The Senate is expected to approve its package any day now. Some of the sanctions being drafted could be implemented before any invasion, in response to activities Russia has already undertaken, such as cyber-attacks. The administration’s sanctions would target figures and companies in or close to Mr Putin’s inner circle as well as the relatives they sometimes use as asset-owning proxies. The aim would be to cut targets off from the global financial system and go after money they have parked in the West.