Sanctions on Crimea Just a Gesture

As of December 18, citizens of the European Union and the United States are no longer allowed to buy real estate in Crimea nor finance Crimean companies. The EU also banned cruise liners from visiting Crimea’s port. And U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order barring exports and imports of goods, technologies and services to and from Crimea.

Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in March when its residents voted to secede from Ukraine after the its pro-Russia president, Viktor Yanukovych, was forced to step down.

The sanctions will have little impact on Crimea or Russia, given the size of the region’s economy and the minor trade links between Crimea and the West.

Dmitri Solonniko is an analyst with the Moscow-based Institute of Contemporary Development. According to him, the new sanctions are just a gesture.

Soundbite with voiceover translation: “I think these sanctions are actually a show of support for the Ukrainian government. It’s just diplomatic rhetoric, or moral support for President Petro Poroshenko. It’s like they are saying, ‘Okay, we will help, we will impose sanctions.’ But I don’t think this kind of moral support is what Poroshenko really needs. What he needs is financial support, coal and natural gas, since Ukraine is currently facing an energy shortage problem.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the punitive measures were useless. It is willing to hold out until the West recognizes Moscow’s “historic right” to Crimea.

Although sanctions against Russia are causing economic hardship, the majority of Russians still support Putin’s land grab. For more information on why the West’s retaliatory measures will likely fail, read our latest article on the subject, “Can the Russians Endure the Faltering Ruble?”