In the wake of the spectacle of a few power-hungry yahoos declaring their little chunks of eastern Ukraine are actually independent countries qualified to sign treaties with Moscow’s Vladimir Putin[1], Edward Luce of the Financial Times (at least according to Professor Richardson) wrote:
Cannot be stated strongly enough: If the west – chiefly America, but also Britain – doesn't burn its financial ties to Russia's oligarchy then Putin will prevail. This means taking on Wall Street, the City, law firms realtors, the prep schools and western laundering outfits.
— Edward Luce (@EdwardGLuce) February 21, 2022
It seems to me the proper procedure will be to freeze all assets, of all the Russian oligarchs, available, and then, one by one, confiscate them. Even go after those that seem beyond reach. Putin’s at the top of an oligarchic kleptocracy, which means he’s only there because he’s the toughest and most skilled at internal power struggles, which range from brutality to diplomacy. The latter depends on success; if a Russian oligarch finds themselves not so oligarchic any longer, they may decide the Putinesque diplomacy isn’t working and take a shot at removing Putin.
A tip into an informal Russian civil war will make it far easier for Ukraine to regain its territorial integrity.
1 Which is so cartoonish that I’d be laughing, but the consequences for the Ukrainians are so potentially tragic that laughter is impossible. I’m not sure English has a name for the actual emotion.
