With Russian 'peacekeeping forces' entering the eastern separatist-held regions of Ukraine, all eyes are on how the US and its NATO allies will respond. The White House has a playbook to follow.
"[There's] an argument that the 2014 sanctions deterred Russia from grabbing more territory from the Ukrainians at the time," Dr Miller said.
"Our financial sanctions have been designed to impose overwhelming and immediate costs to the largest financial institutions, and state-owned enterprises in Russia," deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh said in a recent briefing. Many home appliances and smartphones are also dependent on American components or software, he added.
"A lot of people in the US and in Europe are under the mistaken assumption that oligarchs run Russia," he said. A reduction in Russia's ability to export gas and oil, however, could have far-reaching geopolitical consequences.What will happen to Nord Stream 2?, depends on Russia for about a third of its natural gas supply.