'Those sanctions sure backed him off': Putin formally decrees Crimea a sovereign state

https://twitter.com/BecketAdams/status/445626846898843648

Yesterday, in a vote which had its legitimacy widely questioned, Crimeans “overwhelmingly” elected to secede from Ukraine and join Russia. In response, President Obama imposed certain “sanctions,” which were to freeze the U.S. assets of several members of Vladimir Putin’s “inner circle.”

https://twitter.com/KaptenMike/status/445637669616623616

Putin was undeterred, as most expected:

JUST IN: Russian President Putin signs decree recognizing Crimea as a ‘sovereign and independent state’ http://t.co/7rLGNoIHnV

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) March 17, 2014

So much for the first round of sanctions.

https://twitter.com/TikRoot/status/445638060014047232
https://twitter.com/CuffyMeh/status/445625286642528256

Fox News’ Brit Hume noted sarcastically what kind of a role the sanctions played in slowing down Putin:

Boy, those sanctions sure backed him off. AP-Russian President Putin signs decree recognizing Crimea as "sovereign and independent country."

— Brit Hume (@brithume) March 17, 2014

President Obama’s pen and phone so far haven’t found a way to temper Putin’s territorial aggression.

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