You got that right, and its effects are going to be global--the extent remains to be seen, and it depends on how far this situation escalates.  I still can't figure out why Putin is doing this.  I'm fairly ignorant of global politics and never really followed what was going on in the world, but everything I've read about Putin or seen from Youtube clips about him has been relatively positive....and then he goes and does this, something much worse than the leaders of countries that the US has invaded in the past (I'm talking about Iraq and wherever else we've pointed our military force at).  This is just fucking baffling.

As far as sanctions go, I don't have a clue.  Nor do I know what the repercussions of those sanctions will be, but I can't imagine they'll make Putin happy. 

When I think about this whole mess, I can't help but wonder if Russia is ever going to stop being the Evil Empire that Reagan said they were back in the 1980s.