Recession in Europe and North America may be the inevitable price for defending freedom, resisting aggression and upholding international law in Ukraine. U.S. and European leaders now face an unpleasant choice as they decide how aggressively to use economic sanctions in response to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. The moral imperative is to exert maximum economic pressure rapidly on Russia to end the fighting in Ukraine as quickly as possible and repel Russian forces, which Moscow says are involved in a “special operation” with no plans for occupation. But the economic imperative is to protect businesses and employment at home, minimise the fallout for lower income households and sustain support for sanctions policies. In mid-February, top policymakers appeared to have thought they […]