Rouble trouble Sanctions are causing Russia pain – but can the west keep its resolve?
It must have looked so simple to Vladimir Putin; a lightning strike by superior Russian forces would quickly topple the Ukrainian regime.
The Kremlin would have bargained for the invasion being met with sanctions, but assumed these would be a minor inconvenience given the divisions in the west. Russia had a huge $650bn war chest of gold and foreign exchange reserves to support the economy.
The 19th-century German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke said no
