Sanctions hurt Europe as much as Putin.

Britain admits the idea of defeating Russia with sanctions was delusional.

“Sanctions hurt, but it is arguably Europe, not Russia, that is suffering the most damaging economic and political consequences. Russia has shown remarkable resilience: sanctions have not helped to break Russian resolve. But they have certainly done a lot of damage to Europe. The standoff has created a cost-of-living crisis across Europe with rampant inflation and economic stagnation and is becoming an increasingly divisive political force. The belief that Europe could somehow emerge relatively unscathed from the military conflict in Ukraine was always a manifestation of wishful thinking. It was also nonsense to think that sanctions would topple Putin. He’s probably not going anywhere. Meanwhile, the European economy is getting weaker and weaker”.