Ukraine invaded: Casualties as fighting rages after Russian attack - BBC News
Ukraine says 57 people were killed as Russian troops launch full-scale invasion, closing in on the capital, Kyiv.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would bring gas to Germany has shuttered amid the latest fighting Image caption: The Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would bring gas to Germany has shuttered amid the latest fighting

There was plenty of criticism that Western sanctions in the days leading up to this invasion did not go far enough, fast enough.

These new measures will hit the Russian economy much harder. But there are still potential gaps.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said sanctions against major Russian banks include one of the largest state banks, VTB, which will have all its assets frozen. But another major bank, Sberbank, was not mentioned.

And the Ukrainian government wanted more – in particular moves to disconnect Russia from the international payment system known as Swift, which thousands of banks use to exchange information.

The US and the UK are in favour of such a move, but some European countries fear it could damage their own banks.

Suspending Russia from Swift is still under consideration, but the hesitation is a reminder that in a globalised world all sanctions tend to have an impact on the countries imposing them as well.

And the real trouble with sanctions is that they don’t work quickly.

They do increase pressure, and they can do damage.

But the international community is not trying to damage the Russian economy just for the sake of doing so.

It wants economic pressure to force a change in Putin’s political and military calculations.

Meanwhile, the invasion of Ukraine continues.