Total Sanctions in the Context of “Integrated Deterrence”: Western Countries’ Response to Russia’s Special Military Operation in Ukraine (2022)

The sanctions introduced by the United States and other Western countries after the beginning of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine were intended, along with the military assistance to Ukraine, as the major instrument in countering Russia’s actions. These measures were aimed not only against the Russian state and its military potential and encompassed not only targeted individual and sectoral sanctions, but affected the population at large. The article covers the period from February till the end of 2022 and is focused on the industries most closely related to this country’s military-political stance: the finance sector, the oil and gas exports, the metallurgy, transportation, defense production, and high tech. Special attention is given to secondary sanctions which had the goal to prevent Russia from bypassing restrictions and creating alternative schemes to sell its sanctioned goods, accomplish financial transactions and receive the components and technologies it needed. Various viewpoints on the consequences of the sanctions for the Russian economy and policy are described, as well as for the European and global market and international relations at large.