US, allies failed to deter Putin. Can tougher measures stop him now?
At a spirited pro-Ukraine rally in New York’s Washington Square Park Sunday, more than one of the dozens of hand-lettered signs implored President Joe Biden to do more to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
“Biden stop World War 3,” read one. “Biden Stop Putin Save Ukraine,” read another.
The signs held aloft in a sea of yellow and sky-blue Ukrainian flags raised critical questions about the effectiveness of the economic sanctions and other measures initially imposed by the United States and its Western allies once Mr. Putin launched Thursday the biggest invasion of a European country since World War II.
Once weeks of diplomacy and U.S.-led warnings of severe consequences if Mr. Putin chose to go to war failed to deter Russia, the U.S. and its partners imposed measures widely criticized as too weak and unlikely to quickly alter the Russian leader’s calculus.
On display
