I remember the context for this sentence.
ISRAEL strike harmed ability to prove events.
At the time The Syrian where blamed for a FF chemical attack. And as the Russian and Syrian where ready to let observer in to verify well…. you know the rest!
The Sanction game only work when they are used as an exceptional mean to an end. Abuse it and they loose theirs power. For example Sanction hurt the Russian economy at first but they adapted. And now I don't think that any kind of additional sanction will do anything. They have large reserve of Gold, No external debt and have isolated theirs economy from the US dollar. They even sell military tech to NATO ALLY with impunity. US Friend like the Indian have no problem buying from Russia etc…….
Soon will come a time that Europe will just ignore those too.