As soon as Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to enter eastern Ukraine under the guise of “peacekeeping”, there was pressure on the west to fulfil its promises to punish Moscow with tough sanctions, amid fears the incursion is a precursor to a more sweeping invasion.
The US initially responded with limited sanctions targeting investment and trade related to the Russia-controlled territories of Donetsk and Luhansk, while on Tuesday Boris Johnson announced what he called the “first barrage of UK economic sanctions against Russia”.
