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Already this week, the Obama administration placed tough new sanctions based on intelligence that Russia is heavily supporting the separatists by, among other things, allowing the shipment of men and materiel across its borders. On July 16, the US effectively locked four Russian companies out of the Western financial system. Europe followed with a milder round of new penalties. Mark Dubowitz, of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, suggested that is because the business lobbies of Germany and Italy–the biggest hurdles in enacting tougher European penalties–are "very strong and vehemently opposed to more sanctions." Yet the crash could change the political landscape. "I wouldn't underestimate the extent to which [chancellor Angela] Merkel may reach a point of no return where she gives up on Putin, as she eventually gave up on Iran, and agrees to tough new sanctions," Dubowitz said. "Italy's new prime minister may also surprise given his more Atlanticist leanings."
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