Impact of EU Sanctions on Russia

Recent EU sanctions aim to pressure Moscow by targeting critical sectors like aluminium and disconnecting Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system. Although these measures have been employed since the onset of the Ukraine conflict, the actual effectiveness remains questionable. Experts suggest that while the sanctions do impede the Russian economy, they are not sufficient to collapse it or force a strategic change. Russian trade continues to adapt, utilizing intermediaries in regions such as Central Asia and the UAE, which somewhat mitigates the impact of Western sanctions.