Russian President Vladimir Putin has invaded Europe three times in the past 14 years. He attacked Georgia in 2008 and invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea in 2014. In 2008, the United States did little more than a “smack on the wrist” to Russia. In 2“014, sanctions were imposed. Each action had little resonance over Putin’s behavior. Now, after Putin’s latest invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden is recycling ineffective strategies from a failed playbook that has repeatedly proven unsuccessful against Putin.

“Today, the United States, along with allies and partners, is imposing severe and immediate economic costs on Russia in response to Putin’s war of choice against Ukraine. Today’s actions include sweeping financial sanctions and stringent export controls that will have profound impact on Russia’s economy, financial system, and access to cutting-edge technology. The sanctions measures impose severe costs on Russia’s largest financial institutions and will further isolate Russia from the global financial system,” the White House announced on Feb. 24. “With today’s financial sanctions, we have now targeted all ten of Russia’s largest financial institutions, including the imposition of full blocking and correspondent and payable-through account sanctions, and debt and equity restrictions, on institutions holding nearly 80% of Russian banking sector assets.”