Sanctions have nothing to do beliefs about the presence or support for democracy.
> Thus they think that actions like this will cause popular discontent with Putin.
No, the West believes that the sanctions limit the productive capacity of the Russian economy, and thereby Putin’s capacity to maintain and expand the war, constraining his practical options
(They also think that targeted sanctions on oligarchs put pressure on their support of the regime, which may alter Putin’s choices and prospects, but that even more clearly has nothing to do with democracy.)
