Sanctions won’t stop Putin

The Lithuanian prime minister, Ingrida Šimonyte, put it well yesterday: ‘the way we respond will define us for the generations to come’.

The invasion of Ukraine started last night with Vladimir Putin’s order to send troops into eastern Ukraine. He had earlier recognised the breakaway provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, which together constitute the Donbas region, as independent republics. The two self-proclaimed states declared their independence — something neither Kiev nor any other third country save Russia has yet recognised — following 2014 following the Maidan revolution.

The US, UK and EU say they will announce fresh sanctions as early as today. What we know is that the technicalities have been drawn up. Ursula von der Leyen revealed that Russia will be cut from the global financial markets. But there are rumours that the Germans — who else? — insisted on back channels to allow some Russian banks continued access to western finance.