We will all feel the economic pain of sanctions on Russia

Editorial: The economic pain of sanctions will be felt in every corner of the world, but that pain is the mirror image of the reciprocal damage being inflicted on the Russian economy

If sanctions aren’t hurting, they aren’t working (AP)

If sanctions aren’t hurting, they aren’t working. Though it may come as an unpleasant surprise for many in the west, this maxim applies as much to those imposing the sanctions as to those being sanctioned. Like war itself, sanctions are a lose-lose affair, and nowhere is that more dramatically the case than in energy markets.

Western governments, notably the US administration (though not the EU), are threatening boycotts of Russian oil and gas supplies. Even Germany, which before this war appeared so willing to accommodate Russian anxieties, has cancelled the next phase of its gas pipeline deliveries from the east.

Shell, among others, is pulling out of Russia. Oil traders are refusing to handle Russian orders, for fear of being punished. At the same time, Russia is threatening the west with an embargo on oil exports, effectively imposing sanctions on itself. Russia is losing precious foreign-exchange earnings from its principal export commodities, while its opponents suffer spiralling prices for food and fuel.