Perhaps no one except Russian President Vladimir Putin really knew the full extent of his country’s plans to invade Ukraine. But Putin might have underestimated how quick U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts in other Western nations would come together to dole out crippling economic punishments against Russia.

Aaron Nicodemus is the Editor-in-Chief of Compliance Week. He previously worked as a reporter for Bloomberg Law and as business editor at the Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, Mass. Email: aaron.nicodemus@complianceweek.com LinkedIn:...