In Ukraine, the west has given up without much of a fight. Yes, there are the sanctions, which are taking a bite — but they actually show just how little leverage the West has over Putin. The West is unwilling to really defend Ukraine where it counts, even as NATO blusters about the Russian threat and shores up its Baltic members.
And when Poroshenko pleaded to Obama that he can’t win a war with blankets? He went home with more blankets.
As for the sanctions, they aren’t going to alter Putin’s course in the short term. They depend too much on the oligarchs who are enslaved to Putin getting together and pressuring him to change course. That’s highly unlikely.