As of this week, President Donald Trump announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russia’s major oil and banking companies. These actions are meant to pressure Russia into a ceasefire, but they will cause harmful consequences.
The government claims these sanctions are necessary to make Russia go into a ceasefire. However, previous sanctions placed on Russia did not work, only making life harder for regular citizens. Russian troops have maintained their hold in the Donbas region in Ukraine and continue their assault as the war approaches its fourth year.
Since then, nearly 300 billion dollars have been frozen in Russia’s central bank. Despite this, the Russian onslaught hasn’t slowed down at all.
In Russia, civilians are suffering the most. Facing inflation and food shortages, the well-being of Russian citizens is threatened by these ineffective sanctions. Cost of living has also increased dramatically, with prices for necessities like gas, groceries and utilities on the rise.
According to a poll conducted by Tass, more than 86% of Russians aged 20-25 spend more than 60% of their budget on food alone.
While the sanctions were intended to disrupt Russia, their impact has been stretched across the globe. Given that Russia is one of the world’s largest suppliers of oil and natural resources, the cost of transportation materials and food has increased on the international market.
Over 1 million Russians have left the country since the war began. Motivated by economic instability amongst other factors, Russia faces one of the greatest brain-drains since Germany in World War II.
The poverty rate has also increased, and while the increase isn’t drastic, the true number remains unknown given Russia’s history of unreporting problems and silencing the media.
Sanctions have failed to stop the never-ending march of Russian troops to Ukraine, undermining the rationale for their initial implementation. While it may be a nuisance for their government, the war effort has yet to be deterred on the Russian front.
Sanctions are not the answer we are looking for. They’re not stopping the war or making peace. Instead, they create more problems for families around the world.
If we want peace, then roundabout measures aren’t the way to do it. As counter to modern political culture as it is, directly confronting the issue is the most straightforward path to progress.