According to White House officials, the Obama Administration believes the European Union will agree to “strong sanctions” against Russia in the coming days, with a focus primarily on the arms sector and financial sector.
Reports out of Europe in recent days have shown a reluctance to hit bigger sectors, like Russia’s giant energy sector, for fear that it will damage European economies far more than Russia’s.
The US is pushing sanctions to “punish” Russia for backing east Ukrainian separatists, and they are expected to keep pushing for more sanctions irrespective of whether or not the current ones are implemented.
The arms sector is likely not to be significantly impacted by EU sanctions, as Russia is basically self-sufficient internally for arms, and very few of their exports actually go to EU member nations.
