With the long list of bloody and costly conflicts that have decorated not only the U.S.’ history books but the books of nearly every other country in existence today, the last thing world leaders have a taste for right now is another war. However, with the conflict Ukraine resulting in rising tensions among the European Union and Russia, threatening to cause issues with the Ukraines upcoming presidential elections, countries are being forced to take action, and for many this mean sanctions.

The European Union has already taken steps in these sanctions by freezing the assets of 15 high ranking Russian officials including the deputy prime minister. In addition to this, the U.S. has frozen the assets of seven high ranking Russian officials and imposed sanctions on 17 companies. Along with these, sanctions specifically set to target Russia’s major energy sector are being implemented to damage their economy.

As a result, Russia’s stock market has already decrease by nearly 13 percent, yet President Vladimir Putin’s approval rate in the polls have actually increased by roughly 15 points because of the nationalist appearance of his decisions regarding the Ukraine. However, despite this setback, officials speculate that his popularity will begin to fall when Russia’s economic problems begin to affect the subsidies that its citizens receive due to Russia’s oil based nature of their economy.

While some leaders are adamant that these sanctions will force Putin in to a strategic corner, others are more wary of their so called guaranteed results. In fact, many are arguing that sanctions will damage the economies of most European Countries to a greater extent than it would Russia. The negative effect of these sanctions on European Countries, and later on the U.S., had always been predicted but had been viewed as a necessary sacrifice in order to do more damage to Russia’s economy, however, some economist are beginning to question whether or not Russia will experience much of a negative effect at all.

One of the major reasons for this doubt is the rising economic dealings between the  Chinese and Russians. Unlike the majority of European countries, China has no intention of joining the effort to dissuade Russia from meddling in the Ukraine. As it is, there are three major Chinese banks, including the expanding China Construction Bank, currently operating in Russia. This means that despite the efforts by certain companies like Visa Inc. or Mastercard Inc., who halted service to four major banks in Russia, Russia will be able to avoid an economic crises by simply turning to China as a substitute.

Although the outcome of these sanctions is not concrete, many leaders find it the best option at the moment. However, if Russia continues to push into the Ukraine, President Barack Obama has already assured other NATO members that the U.S. will honor its agreement in Article Five to provide for a common defense if a member nation were to be invaded.  As it is, the U.S. may be forced to impose further sanctions if the conflict in Ukraine has any effect on the country’s presidential elections that are set to occur later this month.