The United States and its European allies hit more than two dozen Russian government officials, executives and companies with new sanctions as punishment for their country’s actions in Ukraine, yet the penalties stopped short of targeting Russia’s broader economy and it remained unclear if they would work.
In Moscow, there was relief that the sanctions were not as far-ranging as feared.The measures, including asset freezes and visa bans, affect people close to the Kremlin, and Western leaders hope those hurt by the sanctions will pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to limit his reach in Ukraine and de-escalate the crisis there.
However, the Russian leader himself was not among those targeted, and Obama administration officials acknowledged there was no expectation that Putin would quickly change course.
Still, officials in Washington and Brussels said the sanctions, coupled with an initial set imposed following Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula last month, would significantly boost the cost to Moscow of ignoring an agreement it signed earlier this month to take concrete steps to ease tensions in Ukraine.
