I am always wary when failure is declared long ahead of a completed attempt, but that has generally been the reaction to the latest rounds of expanded sanctions being applied to Russia by the U.S. government.

On Monday, Washington announced sanctions against an additional seven individuals and 17 companies, most importantly targeting Igor Sechin and Sergei Chemezov, representing Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. Then on Tuesday the European Union joined in, complimenting Washington’s focus on private businessmen and companies by targeting officials, including military chief Valery Gerasimov and Deputy PM Dmitry Kozak.

Many observers still believe these sanctions are too weak, either because they want to see a broader attack on Moscow’s energy exports or because they are urging capitulation (it’s just Ukraine, they argue in subtext, let Moscow have it and draw the line at the Baltics). But what’s interesting to me about the U.S. strategy to target specific individuals is what it says about how we understand Russia, and what sort of reactions we expect to certain measures.