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The European Union is poised¹ to impose tough sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine. The catalyst² for this new resolve-- the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over territory held by anti-Kiev activists³. 15 Russians or Ukrainians and 18 companies and other organisations are named in the latest sanctions list. Among them are some top Russian officials, including the chiefs of Russia’s FSB security service and foreign intelligence service. 

Russia’s Trade Minister says the sanctions are "peanuts," compared to what the Soviet⁴ Union faced during the Cold War. And top Kremlin economic advisor⁵ Andrei Belousov says Russia’s economy will keep growing at a rate of around one percent.

President Vladimir Putin says sanctions will have a "boomerang effect." Other Russian officials and analysts⁷ back that view.

"At the end of the day, introducing any sort of financial sanctions or tariffs⁸ ends up damaging both sides--the inflictors and the inflictees," Economid analyst⁶ Andrei Necheuhkin said.

Not everyone agrees with Russian economic advisor Andrei Belousov, whose growth projection⁹ is much higher than many other Russian economists¹⁰ predict. The Washington DC-based International Monetary¹¹ Fund forecasts Russian growth at just two-tenths of one percent.

Former finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has publicly warned that the Russian government’s anti-Western rhetoric¹² could weaken the economy further, predicting deterioration¹³ in GDP growth by a few points for a few years, a decline in real income and lower wages as a result.

The Russian economy is in fact on the verge¹⁴ of recession, partly as a result of sanctions, with the ruble tumbling and a capital flight of over $75 billion so far this year.

"The sanctions will have very serious repercussions¹⁵ for the Russian economy. They will have repercussions on trade. They will worsen the investment climate. They reverse investment flows," Kirill Entin, research fellow at CTR. for Comprehensive European & Int'l Studies said.

The EU added 15 more people and 18 companies to its sanctions list, and may ban Russia from borrowing money from European lenders. The EU may also bar Europeans from buying bonds from Russia’s largest banks.

Despite this, the Russian government’s official message is, for the moment, one of scorn. As Trade Minister Denis Manturov commented, "What sanctions?"