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Trump’s idea to stop shipment of Russian oil is to add tariffs to countries like India, which only results in driving India into China's sphere.

Apparently, the Ukrainians have figured out a lot more creative way to stop Russian oil shipments.

Putin kills women and children.

Zelensky kills refineries.

A few clips from The Economist:

Since the beginning of August, Ukraine has carried out over a dozen strikes on Russia’s oil-refining and distribution system, and the tempo shows no signs of flagging. The most recent were on refineries at Krasnodar and at Syzran, a city in Samara region, on August 30th. Both refineries, which have been hit many times, supply fuel to Russian military units ………

According to some estimates, up to 20% of Russia’s refining capacity has been taken out, at least temporarily: a loss of well over 1m barrels a day, mainly of petrol but also of diesel. Refineries that have been hit several times have suffered lasting damage. The destruction of the cracking units that break down crude oil into petrol, diesel and aviation fuel is hurting most, because they are difficult to replace under the sanctions regime.

Apparently, the Ukrainians have figured out a lot more creative way to stop Russian oil shipments.

I wonder if Trump has influenced Ukrainian targeting decisions? As offered before, Trump wants to take other country's production off line, to tighten supplies, to raise prices, to enrich US oil companies.

On the last go around, Trump was obviously servile to Putin, except when it came to energy. Trump was very loudly telling the west Europeans to NOT buy gas via the Nord Stream II pipeline, but buy US LNG instead. Bush #43 invaded Iraq to take their production off line. Trump can't attack Russia directly, so he is attacking Russia's customers economically, and using Ukraine to directly attack O&G infrastructure.

Steve

Maybe tell the Slave gtrading Country Colonizing Genocidal World War twice racist to this day EUROPEANS.....


Stop buying Russian oil for even a day.

But that would require Europeans or White Liberals to live how they wish to dictate to others how to live.

And these rainbow colored hood wearers --ain't gonna do that.

Hey guys, i hear Amazon has a sale on gasoline and matchsticks.....

I think it was Telegraph that ran an article that China was supplying Russia with drones and drone material - up to a million drones.

Dope should secondary sanction China and N Korea for that. And tertiary sanctions too. While we're at it blow up Russian tankers for transporting drugs. And deport all those funny lookin liberal judges on the USSC. Mer'ca for Mer'cans.

Stop buying Russian oil for even a day.

But that would require Europeans or White Liberals to live how they wish to dictate to others how to live.

Not true. The US is a net exporter, and has been for a decade or so. I used to hang out on "Peak Oil" at TMF. Albaby kept telling everyone that we weren't at peak oil, and it turns out he was correct. We weren't, and probably still aren't. Russian oil won't move the needle one iota (in part, because we already don't get Russian oil...they mostly sell to India and China).

And, to Europe's credit, they have been making major strides in a very short time to eliminate the need for Russian NG. They aren't there yet, but it's mostly going in the right direction. For more detail (good and bad) than you probably want:

https://energyandcleanair.org/publication/eu-impor...

Russian oil won't move the needle one iota (in part, because we already don't get Russian oil...they mostly sell to India and China).

Prices are set in global markets. Take Russian, or Iranian, or Venezuelan, oil off the market, and the customers need to bid against others for oil from somewhere else. Ever since Trump's first meeting with the Japanese PM, shortly after the inauguration, part of each "arty deal" has been increased purchases of US oil and gas.

Steve

has been increased purchases of US oil and gas.

And judging by your other posts on this subject, you're against this. Why?

Are you in a competing industry?

The US is a net exporter, and has been for a decade or so. I used to hang out on "Peak Oil" at TMF. Albaby kept telling everyone that we weren't at peak oil, and it turns out he was correct. We weren't, and probably still aren't.

That's right. We are not at Peak Oil - domestic production hit another all-time high last month. And we are still a net exporter - to the tune of about 2.6 mbpd.

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/leafhandler.ashx...
https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx...

As for "stop buying Russian oil for even a day," the U.S. does not buy any oil from Russia. Virtually no countries in the EU buy Russian oil, save for two: Hungary and Slovakia. No one else - just those two. They were granted an exemption from the sanctions ban on oil imports because they are entirely landlocked and were completely dependent on the Druzhba pipeline from Russia for their oil supply. The idea was that they would be given time to set up an alternative supply chain - instead, they've basically just enjoyed the cheap oil.

So - why isn't the U.S. putting pressure on Hungary and Slovakia to stop importing Russian oil? Because Orban and Fico are among Trump's biggest supporters in Europe, and their nationalistic populism is also quite well regarded within the GOP base. We will mouth platitudes about how "Europe" should reduce their oil imports from Russia (which are about 6% of Russian exports), but we won't name the two countries that are actually doing the importing. Complaining about "Europe" scores points with the GOP base, but criticizing Hungary would actually impose a bit of a cost on Trump.

So - why isn't the U.S. putting pressure on Hungary and Slovakia to stop importing Russian oil? Because Orban and Fico are among Trump's biggest supporters in Europe, and their nationalistic populism is also quite well regarded within the GOP base. We will mouth platitudes about how "Europe" should reduce their oil imports from Russia (which are about 6% of Russian exports), but we won't name the two countries that are actually doing the importing. Complaining about "Europe" scores points with the GOP base, but criticizing Hungary would actually impose a bit of a cost on Trump.

1. How do you know we aren't?
2. How much would zeroing out those two really move the needle?

And judging by your other posts on this subject, you're against this. Why?

You may have misunderstood something I said? I am long US big oil, so unlikely I would be against anything that would increase the price and volume of US oil sales.

Steve

So - why isn't the U.S. putting pressure on Hungary and Slovakia to stop importing Russian oil? Because Orban and Fico are among Trump's biggest supporters in Europe,

US oil would also be a hard sell to landlocked countries that close to Russia. The markets Trump has been seeking are Japan, South Korea, and the EU. In the case of Japan and South Korea, the trip from the US, especially Alaska, is a lot shorter than from the middle east. Another thing Trump boasted about, was Japan agreeing to invest in a nat gas project in Alaska.

Steve

1. How do you know we aren't?
2. How much would zeroing out those two really move the needle?

1. There's been no public mention - at all - of those two countries. And they haven't done anything to reduce their imports in the last several years. So if we were actually putting pressure on them, it's been utterly ineffective - and it's completely avoided anything that would be visible to any observer.

2. Those two countries make up 100% of the EU's oil imports from Russia. If the complaint is that EU isn't "walking the walk," every other country in the EU has zeroed out their oil imports from Russia. These two are the only ones left. They comprise about 6% of Russia's total oil exports, globally. Taken together, they're the number three importer of Russian oil (behind only India and China). So if you're looking for "one way to stop Russian oil shipments," and pointing at the EU while doing it, these two countries are literally the entire needle.

1. There's been no public mention - at all - of those two countries. And they haven't done anything to reduce their imports in the last several years. So if we were actually putting pressure on them, it's been utterly ineffective - and it's completely avoided anything that would be visible to any observer.

Your statement was declarative. The truth is we have no idea one way or the other.

2. Those two countries make up 100% of the EU's oil imports from Russia. If the complaint is that EU isn't "walking the walk," every other country in the EU has zeroed out their oil imports from Russia. These two are the only ones left. They comprise about 6% of Russia's total oil exports, globally. Taken together, they're the number three importer of Russian oil (behind only India and China). So if you're looking for "one way to stop Russian oil shipments," and pointing at the EU while doing it, these two countries are literally the entire needle.

Great, then get them to stop buying oil from Putin. 6% is not nothing, but it's also not even double digits in terms of Russkie oil production.

Where do the Russians export their oil? Assuming this place is accurate:

https://energyandcleanair.org/march-2025-monthly-a...

Crude oil: China has bought 47% of Russia’s crude exports, followed by India (38%), the EU (6%), and Turkey (6%).

There's your 6%. China won't stop buying Putin's oil so that leaves India and Turkey.

LNG: The EU was the largest buyer, purchasing 50% of Russia’s LNG exports, followed by China (21%), and Japan (19%).

The Europeans STILL buy enormous quantities of natural gas from the Russians. There's another place to look.

The Europeans STILL buy enormous quantities of natural gas from the Russians. There's another place to look.

Unfortunately, it takes a while to build an LNG terminal. Western Europe has been importing oil from the middle east and north africa for decades, so they have the port facilities. But not for nat gas. I have posted before about the Lithuanian official, interviewed on Amanpour, about their LNG terminal. They started the project several years ago, because they didn't want to be slaves to Gazprom. The terminal is now complete and operating. Not only are they no longer dependent on the Russians, the world market price they are paying now, is less than Gazprom was charging them.

Klaipėda LNG terminal (Lithuanian: Klaipėdos suskystintų gamtinių dujų terminalas) is a liquefied natural gas import terminal in the port of Klaipėda, Lithuania. It cost US$128 million to construct.[1] The developer and owner of the project is KN Energies.

The terminal started operating on 3 December 2014.[2] After the completion of the Klaipėda LNG FSRU, Lithuania became the fifth country in the world to use FSRU technology for liquefied natural gas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaip%C4%97da_LNG_te...

Other countries have other obstacles to overcome. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was Chairman of the Board of the Nord Stream II pipeline, and a member of the board of Rosneft. No matter how much Trump barked at the Germans to buy US LNG, rather than Russian gas, he wasn't going to get anywhere.

Steve

Dope1: Great, then get them to stop buying oil from Putin.

C'mon, Mad King Donald would never do anything to negatively impact Russia in any serious way.

Just today the administration delivered another gift to Putin, announcing it will end European security programs focused on Russia, including an initiative to fortify the continent's eastern flank against a potential attack by Russia. And this comes on the heels of the Mad King Donald Alaska Summit that did nothing more than "rescue Putin from diplomatic isolation."

Among the programs to be suspended is the Baltic Security Initiative, an effort to reinforce those nations with money for infrastructure and training. And yes, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia already spend among the most of their GDP on defense but their economies are small, making U.S. funding critically important to their security.

For a party that loves to chant Russia! Russia! Russia! to chide democrats, it sure does govern in a way that always seems to favor Russia.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2...

Great, then get them to stop buying oil from Putin.

Great. How? Hungary and Slovakia have refused to reduce their oil purchases. Their leaders are staunch supporters of Trump, and are well-regarded in the GOP base. That basically insulates them from any actual political pressure from the U.S., unless and until Trump is willing to take a bit of a political hit and actually go after them.

There's your 6%. China won't stop buying Putin's oil so that leaves India and Turkey.

India won't stop buying Putin's oil, so that leaves Turkey, Hungary, and Slovakia. Erdogan, Orban, and Fico.

The Europeans STILL buy enormous quantities of natural gas from the Russians. There's another place to look.

Already in process. The EU is taking up a complete ban on Russian gas imports. All imports under anything other than long-term contracts would be prohibited by this coming June; long-term contracts have until the following year.

The difficulty has been - and continues to be - Hungary and Slovakia. The EU doesn't have a single decision-maker that can impose their will on the collective. Sanctions require unanimous approval, so they haven't been able to pass these kinds of things over the fierce objections of two of the member-states. That's why Hungary and Slovakia were able to get an exception from the oil import ban - they were going to tank the whole thing if they weren't carved out. They've consistently threatened to do the same to a gas ban. This time, the EU thinks they've found procedural way around that - they're going to structure it as a change to the underlying energy regulations, rather than as a sanction. That allows them to bypass the unanimity requirement. The downside to that, though, is that Hungary and Slovakia will be outraged and likely tank any further effort to impose any economic sanction again, so this probably has to be the last one.

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-poli...

"Take Russian, or Iranian, or Venezuelan, oil off the market, and the customers need to bid against others for oil from somewhere else. Ever since Trump's first meeting with the Japanese PM, shortly after the inauguration, part of each "arty deal" has been increased purchases of US oil and gas."

And despite all the tailwinds, I think the energy etf XLE is only up 4.5% YTD.
Trump doing everything he can to prop them up, that is a pretty weak performance.
Maybe oil/energy investors are seeing something that worries them,lol

That allows them to bypass the unanimity requirement.

Once the ban is in place, Ukraine probably could target the alternative pipelines (since they already shut down the Russian lines through their territory in January). Right now, it might be politically tricky (i.e. attacking a supply that their supporters need). But after the ban, Europe won't be getting any Russian fossils anyway. So they can blast it within Russian territory with little consequence.

Hungary and Slovakia have refused to reduce their oil purchases. Their leaders are staunch supporters of Trump, and are well-regarded in the GOP base.

I guarantee you nobody or very few in the states cares who Orban is or could even name the Slovakian Prime Minister.

Already in process. The EU is taking up a complete ban on Russian gas imports. All imports under anything other than long-term contracts would be prohibited by this coming June; long-term contracts have until the following year.

Well - good for them! Only took 3 years for them to get moving on it and this was - let's recall - after they laughed at Trump when he suggested this in his first term.

Maybe they should have listened to him.

The downside to that, though, is that Hungary and Slovakia will be outraged and likely tank any further effort to impose any economic sanction again, so this probably has to be the last one.

So the EU - with its vast regulatory powers and ability to dictate to each of its member states right down to the lowest tea pot what to do - is utterly powerless to stop rogue behavior from 2 of its smallest economies, is that it? And somehow this is Trump's problem to solve?

I'd say the WEF-adjacent Bond villain wannabes in Brussels need to rethink their structure if that's the case.

I guarantee you nobody or very few in the states cares who Orban is or could even name the Slovakian Prime Minister.

Orban's been a regular interview for Tucker Carlson for years, and Hungary is a poster child for a big slice of the right wing base. He's been a hero to them for longer than Trump:

It is rare for the leader of any foreign country, much less one the size of Kentucky, to become the object of such intense American scrutiny. Mr. Orban looms large in debates over democracy, authoritarianism and liberalism not just because Hungary is a political outlier compared with other members of NATO and the European Union. It is also because Mr. Orban’s career reveals the full extent to which conservatism has been transformed in the first decades of the 21st century. Mr. Orban exemplifies the combative spirit and scornful attitude of a Right that sees itself as culturally belittled, isolated, dispossessed and under siege from forces undermining Western civilization from within. Mr. Orban is not a Trump wannabe. He is the leader that populist-nationalists hoped Mr. Trump would become.

https://www.aei.org/articles/viktor-orban-an-impro...

They know who he is the way you know who Meloni is. He's the foreign leader that was their first and favorite example of the type of conservative anti-globalist nationalism that the MAGA base loves.

Well - good for them! Only took 3 years for them to get moving on it and this was - let's recall - after they laughed at Trump when he suggested this in his first term.

Maybe they should have listened to him.

I think it might be helpful for you to read the article upthread. The EU has some very serious structural elements that prevent them from doing things like this. The EU was trying to do this for oil, but was constantly thwarted by Hungary and Slovakia vetoing (or threatening to veto) the sanctions. Because sanctions have to be unanimous. Which is why the sanctions look the way they do, with every country in Europe zeroing out their oil (years ago!) but Hungary and Slovakia getting a full exemption. And because energy (typically) isn't purchased by governments, but is purchased by utilities and private companies, national governments can't just flick a switch to either require their companies to violate their long-term contracts or make the investments needed to have alternative sources overnight. Overall the EU have successfully cut their gas imports by about two thirds - and even more if you take out Hungary and Slovakia, again. This effort to zero out Russian imports is fraught with legal peril - it's a kludge that's going to send many of their energy companies into court battles that they'll likely lose, because the absence of sanctions means that many (most?) won't be able to invoke force majeure to stop their legal obligation to continue imports. They've moved pretty quick, all things considered.

So the EU - with its vast regulatory powers and ability to dictate to each of its member states right down to the lowest tea pot what to do - is utterly powerless to stop rogue behavior from 2 of its smallest economies, is that it? And somehow this is Trump's problem to solve?,/i>

Yep. The EU framework requires unanimity to impose sanctions like this. Weird, right? Despite the caricature of Brussels as an uber-powerful "One World Government in the wings" type of leviathan, they actually have a discrete remit of authority and can't just do anything they want.

This is not Trump's "problem to solve," but me trying to explain to you why it has been nearly impossible for the EU to stop Russian oil shipments entirely. Hungary and Slovakia have effective veto power over sanctions, and didn't have any alternative sources for oil other than Russian pipeline. So they threatened to kill all sanctions unless they were exempted. So they are the only countries in Europe importing Russian oil. If Trump's plan for doing something else to Russia involves stopping Russian oil shipments to Europe, then Trump would have to find a way to resolve that structural problem and/or get Hungary and Slovakia to stop importing so much oil.

This isn't the EU refusing to do a simple thing. There are actual reasons, rooted in the structure of the EU, why they were unable to just tell Hungary and Slovakia to pound sand and get EU oil imports down to zero.

(Reposted for formatting)

I guarantee you nobody or very few in the states cares who Orban is or could even name the Slovakian Prime Minister.

Orban's been a regular interview for Tucker Carlson for years, and Hungary is a poster child for a big slice of the right wing base. He's been a hero to them for longer than Trump:

It is rare for the leader of any foreign country, much less one the size of Kentucky, to become the object of such intense American scrutiny. Mr. Orban looms large in debates over democracy, authoritarianism and liberalism not just because Hungary is a political outlier compared with other members of NATO and the European Union. It is also because Mr. Orban’s career reveals the full extent to which conservatism has been transformed in the first decades of the 21st century. Mr. Orban exemplifies the combative spirit and scornful attitude of a Right that sees itself as culturally belittled, isolated, dispossessed and under siege from forces undermining Western civilization from within. Mr. Orban is not a Trump wannabe. He is the leader that populist-nationalists hoped Mr. Trump would become.

https://www.aei.org/articles/viktor-orban-an-impro...

They know who he is the way you know who Meloni is. He's the foreign leader that was their first and favorite example of the type of conservative anti-globalist nationalism that the MAGA base loves.

Well - good for them! Only took 3 years for them to get moving on it and this was - let's recall - after they laughed at Trump when he suggested this in his first term.

Maybe they should have listened to him.

I think it might be helpful for you to read the article upthread. The EU has some very serious structural elements that prevent them from doing things like this. The EU was trying to do this for oil, but was constantly thwarted by Hungary and Slovakia vetoing (or threatening to veto) the sanctions. Because sanctions have to be unanimous. Which is why the sanctions look the way they do, with every country in Europe zeroing out their oil (years ago!) but Hungary and Slovakia getting a full exemption. And because energy (typically) isn't purchased by governments, but is purchased by utilities and private companies, national governments can't just flick a switch to either require their companies to violate their long-term contracts or make the investments needed to have alternative sources overnight. Overall the EU have successfully cut their gas imports by about two thirds - and even more if you take out Hungary and Slovakia, again. This effort to zero out Russian imports is fraught with legal peril - it's a kludge that's going to send many of their energy companies into court battles that they'll likely lose, because the absence of sanctions means that many (most?) won't be able to invoke force majeure to stop their legal obligation to continue imports. They've moved pretty quick, all things considered.

So the EU - with its vast regulatory powers and ability to dictate to each of its member states right down to the lowest tea pot what to do - is utterly powerless to stop rogue behavior from 2 of its smallest economies, is that it? And somehow this is Trump's problem to solve?,

Yep. The EU framework requires unanimity to impose sanctions like this. Weird, right? Despite the caricature of Brussels as an uber-powerful "One World Government in the wings" type of leviathan, they actually have a discrete remit of authority and can't just do anything they want.

This is not Trump's "problem to solve," but me trying to explain to you why it has been nearly impossible for the EU to stop Russian oil shipments entirely. Hungary and Slovakia have effective veto power over sanctions, and didn't have any alternative sources for oil other than Russian pipeline. So they threatened to kill all sanctions unless they were exempted. So they are the only countries in Europe importing Russian oil. If Trump's plan for doing something else to Russia involves stopping Russian oil shipments to Europe, then Trump would have to find a way to resolve that structural problem and/or get Hungary and Slovakia to stop importing so much oil.

This isn't the EU refusing to do a simple thing. There are actual reasons, rooted in the structure of the EU, why they were unable to just tell Hungary and Slovakia to pound sand and get EU oil imports down to zero.

Orban's been a regular interview for Tucker Carlson for years, and Hungary is a poster child for a big slice of the right wing base.

And literally nobody cares. Once Tucker lost his show, his relevance started going with it. The other thing he started doing was launching a lot of weird stuff about Israel.

They know who he is the way you know who Meloni is. He's the foreign leader that was their first and favorite example of the type of conservative anti-globalist nationalism that the MAGA base loves.

YOU know who Orban is. *I* know who Orban is. We only know that because we're politics junkies. Your average MAGA person isn't. That's the difference. And as a political junkie, I haven't the faintest idea who the Prime Minister of Slovakia is and certainly couldn't pick them out of a lineup.

Overall the EU have successfully cut their gas imports by about two thirds - and even more if you take out Hungary and Slovakia, again. This effort to zero out Russian imports is fraught with legal peril - it's a kludge that's going to send many of their energy companies into court battles that they'll likely lose, because the absence of sanctions means that many (most?) won't be able to invoke force majeure to stop their legal obligation to continue imports. They've moved pretty quick, all things considered.

Buying or not buying Russian oil and gas doesn't necessarily need to be a "sanctions" kind of a thing. The European model of business - just ask anyone connected to Boeing or Airbus - revolves around them subsidizing businesses they like and want to protect. And that's purely a business decision rooted in long-term continental economic strategy.

They could, for example, decide to start shunting dollars to (Dutch Royal) Shell or British Petroleum to effectively lower the cost of oil below what Putin is offering Slovakia and Hungary. They could do the same thing with respect to LNG terminals, if they're not already.

Yep. The EU framework requires unanimity to impose sanctions like this. Weird, right? Despite the caricature of Brussels as an uber-powerful "One World Government in the wings" type of leviathan, they actually have a discrete remit of authority and can't just do anything they want.

Actually, it plays into the stereotype very well: A collection of inept bureaucrats who are very good at meddling with stupid stuff like the design of teapots - things that mean absolutely nothing in the Grand Scheme of Things - but who fail completely at solving pressing issues that Actually Matter. The EU is one of the perfect, living embodiments and examples of why large bureaucracies crash out: they can't active decisively on a fine enough scale to matter.

It's why proponents of Big Government always lose the argument around agility. There's no possible way to simultaneously be that Big and be agile.

This is not Trump's "problem to solve," but me trying to explain to you why it has been nearly impossible for the EU to stop Russian oil shipments entirely.

And you're doing an excellent job of demonstrating why their half-assed Federalism concepts over there aren't getting the job done.

And you're doing an excellent job of demonstrating why their half-assed Federalism concepts over there aren't getting the job done.

So what? It's like asking why the UN hasn't stopped the Russian invasion - or stopped war generally. The EU isn't a country - it's an institutionalized economic, financial, and trade federation among sovereign nations. It's not built for, and doesn't have the power to, get these kind of "jobs done." That's not what it's for. Brussels hasn't been given the power to be in charge of these types of decisions.

Heck, even in the United States - which is an actual national government and not an international federation - there are vast swathes of things that are simply not given to the federal government to do. We live in a nation built on "half-assed Federalism," so that some decisions would be made at the level of the sovereign states.

My point still remains - there aren't a lot of solutions to "get the job done" that remain untried. Ideas like "get the EU to reduce oil shipments" only appear to be likely prospects if you don't look at the details. Like the detail that the EU doesn't have the power to impose sanctions on Russia without unanimity, and they don't have unanimity, and the two countries that are importing all the oil are the ones that blocked the universal sanctions in the first place. Hungary in particular appears determined to get as much of their energy from Russia as they can (and for reasons other than merely price - Orban is a huge ally of Putin) - and since they are a sovereign nation that gets to make those decisions for themselves for the most part, there's been little that anyone can do about it.

So what? It's like asking why the UN hasn't stopped the Russian invasion - or stopped war generally. The EU isn't a country - it's an institutionalized economic, financial, and trade federation among sovereign nations....

...that wants to act like a country. With a unified political and economic policy.

But as you're demonstrating, it's not a very well put together "country".

Heck, even in the United States - which is an actual national government and not an international federation - there are vast swathes of things that are simply not given to the federal government to do. We live in a nation built on "half-assed Federalism," so that some decisions would be made at the level of the sovereign states.

Our Federalism is far from half-assed. I don't recall the Governor of West Virgina heading out to discuss foreign policy with say, Saudi Arabia.

My point still remains - there aren't a lot of solutions to "get the job done" that remain untried.

Then there's nothing else to do except think outside the box and find other means to speed the war along towards a conclusion that kicks Putin out of Russia. If the world is unwilling or unable to inflict significant economic pain on Russia in the form of choking off the one avenue of $$$ that he's got to fund the war, then unless something breaks the deadlock then it becomes a war of attrition that favors Putin, not Zelensky.

And that's been MY point.

...that wants to act like a country. With a unified political and economic policy.

No, it doesn't. The EU is not intended to, and has never been aimed at, being a country. It's not that type of federation or institution. Sure, the folks who see Bilderbergers behind every couch are convinced that the European project is intended to bring about a single-country One World Government (or whatever). But that's not what it is and not what it's for.

Then there's nothing else to do except think outside the box and find other means to speed the war along towards a conclusion that kicks Putin out of Russia.

No one disagrees. By all means, let's find things that will actually speed the war to getting Putin out of Ukraine. I think everyone on this board would entertain a proposed solution that could actually work. Rather than things that can't be done. The EU doesn't have the power to impose sanctions that will block Russian oil imports without Hungary's assent, and Hungary isn't agreeing. It does no good to blame them for not doing something they don't have the power to do.

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