Ukraine-born journalist Larisa Alexandrovna (DU,HuffPost): Ides of March

[peggysue2]

8. I think we'll see the noose tightened on a daily/weekly basis now

The EU is not ready to cut Putin off from SWIFT yet, but I can easily imagine the images and death toll coming in from Ukraine, a list of atrocities and war crimes as Putin pushes his soldiers to bring Ukraine down. I can also easily imagine Ukrainians refusing to give up, making Putin and his men bleed in a war of attrition. Always costly.

The more horrified and outraged alliance countries become, the greater lengths the democracies of the world will be willing to go. Boris Johnson is already talking about property seizure, a direct hit to Putin's oligarchs and buddies. This could happen everywhere. Take away all the toys, all the goodies these thugs have enjoyed with impunity and I think we're likely to hear a good deal of shrieking inside Russia.

Putin is going to isolate himself through these actions. Instead of Putin the Great, he's more likely to be known as Putin the Pariah.