The U.S. and the European Union adopted sweeping economic sanctions against Russia on Tuesday to punish Moscow's unbending stance in the Ukraine conflict, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The question for the West now is whether the move will make Russian President Vladimir Putin more cooperative or prompt him to dig in.
The trade and investment restrictions that EU governments, after much agonizing, agreed upon mark a major escalation of sanctions against Russia, which so far have been mostly token measures targeting individuals.
New measures hitting Russia's banks, oil industry and military could increase financial strains in its already sluggish economy while withholding technology that the nation's modernization relies on.