Ukraine Crisis: What's the Obama administration's next move?

The U.S. has already suspended military engagement with Russia. It has also pulled out of prep meeting for the G-8 summit in Sochi and is threatening to boot Russia from the G-8 altogether. Putin, for his part, seems unfazed. Tough economic sanctions are probably the next items on the U.S. agenda, according to William Pomeranz, deputy director for the Kennan Institute, a Russia-focused group at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a nonpartisan policy organization in Washington. "I think there will be a strong, growing demand in Congress and potentially across the U.S. itself for heightened sanctions against Russia," Pomeranz said. "Russia is one of the few issues that brings out bipartisan support. We're going to see growing momentum for sanctions." House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce on Tuesday called for "crippling sanctions on Russian high-ranking officials, state-owned banks and commercial enterprises, and key individuals behind the Russian intervention." According to The Associated Press, the U.S. on Tuesday was already preparing sanctions against Russia unless Moscow deescalated the crisis and called its troops back to their barracks on the peninsula.

What will Ukraine need to rebound? In Kiev on Tuesday, Kerry paid tribute to those who died in the bloody protests last month — and pledged $1 billion in a loan guarantee program to Ukraine as the country tries to stave off bankruptcy. "In addition to making sure the election takes place on time, Ukraine is going to need significant financial aid," Pomeranz said. "It will likely come from the European Union and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and international financial institutions." Yatsenyuk on Tuesday called on Western powers to dole out political and economic support as the Kiev stock market plummeted a record 12 percent and the Ukrainian national currency dropped to new lows against the dollar and euro. Weiss said that the European Union — perhaps fronted by Germany and Chancellor Angela Merkel — will be a "key actor" in the coming days and weeks. And the IMF will "probably provide some sort of 'band-aid' support that carries Ukraine to the May elections."