Nel quarto anno della guerra su vasta scala, la Russia continua ad acquisire componenti per la produzione di armi …

From the start I have said that sanctions are useless in terms of ending the war. Sanctions can slow down production, piss off the targets, but they never in history have produced the desired results. They are performative political actions intended to show that *something* is being done, short of doing what might actually have a substantive effect. Sanctions are far too easy to get around, because sanctions make the sanctioned items more profitable for those willing to bypass the sanctions. Plus there is the fact that not everyone is on the same side as those imposing the sanctions.

While they can slow production down, they can’t really stop anything entirely, and production can shift according to new tactics and the inventiveness of the target. So not entirely useless as part of a broader strategy that includes far more concrete tools, but truly they are a minor part. Had the West not dithered so much about supplying modern weaponry, had it not restrained Ukraine from hitting targets in Russia, had it not tried to micromanage Ukraine’s war effort, had it supplied more ammunition in a more timely manner, who knows where the war would be today? Certainly in a far better place with far fewer Ukrainian casualties.

Waiting for sanctions to bite and take effect and bring about the end of the war is much like waiting for Godot.