The European gas sanctions specifically aren't working:
1. The gas is just being arbitraged via China. It's a commodity, it makes no sense to stop buying from source A and start buying from source B if B is willing to buy from A.
2. Gazprom is now making record-breaking profits.
Europe is now facing an unprecedented and mostly self inflicted crisis of the type that didn't occur even during the cold war. The Russians claim they are willing to fill up to half of Nord Stream 2 the moment Germany decides to accept it. If that's a lie then the energy crisis is real. If it's not a lie then European leaders are manipulating the public - sanctioning Russia so they feel good and virtuous whilst simultaneously claiming the sanctions are the other way around and there's nothing they can do to get more gas.
Sanctions on non-commodities like chips, specialist tools, infrastructure access? That can work and is probably having an impact. Sanctions on a commodity that can be moved around as a liquid? That can only work in theory if everyone does it despite the huge incentives to defect.
1. The gas is just being arbitraged via China. It's a commodity, it makes no sense to stop buying from source A and start buying from source B if B is willing to buy from A.
2. Gazprom is now making record-breaking profits.
Europe is now facing an unprecedented and mostly self inflicted crisis of the type that didn't occur even during the cold war. The Russians claim they are willing to fill up to half of Nord Stream 2 the moment Germany decides to accept it. If that's a lie then the energy crisis is real. If it's not a lie then European leaders are manipulating the public - sanctioning Russia so they feel good and virtuous whilst simultaneously claiming the sanctions are the other way around and there's nothing they can do to get more gas.
Sanctions on non-commodities like chips, specialist tools, infrastructure access? That can work and is probably having an impact. Sanctions on a commodity that can be moved around as a liquid? That can only work in theory if everyone does it despite the huge incentives to defect.