
<p>You may recall that President Biden said he would impose “crippling sanctions” on Russia if they invaded Ukraine. ; You will also recall that he did not. ; In fact, he has been very slow and measured in imposing sanctions on Russia – even as the Madman of Moscow has expanded his war and engaged in widespread war crimes.</p>



<p>As expected, Russian President Vladimir Putin has proven to be very resilient when it comes to sanctions. ; One &#8230; because he can afford to be. ; Sanctions have never been a game-changer when it came to discouraging bad behavior by authoritarian dictators.  ; And two … because the sanctions, themselves, are not doing what they we said to do.</p>



<p>Again, you need to recall how Biden and NATO were going to financially starve Russia by stopping the purchase of Russian oil. ; They shut down the Nord Stream pipeline, but not the Druzhba Pipeline. ; So far, Russian oil has been flowing into the market as much as ever. ; Putin also got financial benefit when OPEC raised world oil prices. ; The combination of not addressing the Druzhba Pipeline and restricting American production gave Putin $500 billion to fud his dirty little war.</p>



<p>That was a double blow to the United States because it not only gave Putin more oil income, but America at a price disadvantage because of Biden’s restrictive oil policies. ; China has also reduced the impact of western sanctions by increasing its purchase of Russian oil.</p>



<p>Then there was the all-important computer chip supply chain. ; Sanctioning Putin by cutting off sales of computer chips is more than a financial or domestic blow. ; Those chips are essential to the conduct of the war. ; Without them, Putin would be fighting a 21<sup>st</sup> Century war with 20<sup>th</sup> Century technology.</p>



<p>According to a report from Reuters New Service, the Biden sanctions have had no impact on the flow of essential computer chips to Russia. ; While the major western producers no longer sell directly to Russia, some have set up new companies that ship to Russia. ; Even NATO nations are engaging in bypassing the sanctions. ; A German company established a business relationship with a company in Turkey that is shipping the computer chip to Russia – and they are not alone.</p>



<p>Sanctions will never work unless there is a means of enforcing them. ; And that usually means military action. ; That is not a new concept. ; Germany attempted to stem the flow of American war equipment going to Great Britain in World War II by sinking the ships carrying the cargo. ; In the past, the United States intercepted ships carrying banned weapons to rogue nations and terrorists.</p>



<p>(I recently recommended that the United States and NATO intercept shipments of Iranian drones heading to the war zone in Ukraine.)</p>



<p>It seems that the matter of sanctions – in addition to military aid to Ukraine – is always inhibited by Putin’s nuclear saber rattling. ; This war will drag on – and Putin will win – unless the United States and allies provide Ukraine with the support and means necessary to win the war as defined by President Zelenskyy – the removal of Russian forces from all of Ukraine, including the Crimea. ; Sanctions are not doing it – and they will not. ; ;</p>



<p>The more time that goes by, the more Putin can develop new lines of supply. ; There are innumerable opportunities between China, Iran and North Korea – as well as those western producers skirting the sanctions.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Sanctions on Russia are not working
