The UK must end its dependence on Russian money

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is very much under way, and the UK has responded by placing sanctions on a small number of banks and high-net-worth individuals, the majority of whom were already on a sanctions list in the US.

It is, without question, a response that does not meet the scale of the aggression. This is not necessarily a bad thing. There is clearly disagreement within the UK government over whether to act now, with more draconian economic sanctions, or to keep some back for when the crisis inevitably escalates.

To know the correct course of action, one would have to know Mr Putin’s precise intentions, and we do not. We are, as ever, mired in indecision. Mr Putin, in turn, cannot know for certain the response with which his actions will be met. But he has ample reason to suspect he will be given a chance to push his luck.