RayC

Not sure why anyone in their right mind would want to be PM at this particular moment in time? Anyway, I'm sure that she's reading this thread????, so good luck, Prime Minister. You're certainly going to need it.

To a degree. But those same people need to ensure that their depression does reach the stage whereby they feel inclined to leap through Russian hospital windows!

That's true to a degree but I would suggest Europe is more dependent on Russia in this instance. Europe needs to power its' industry and heat its' homes, and - in the short term - it cannot do so without experiencing severe disruption unless it imports Russian gas. Because of the huge increase in the price of gas, the value of Russian gas exports to Europe has remained roughly the same as it was before sanctions were imposed, despite volumes being significantly reduced. I should withdraw my previous comment about being surprised that it took Russia this long to disrupt supplies. It makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, Russia holds most of the good cards here. It's possible (likely?) that Europe can look forward to a winter in which Russia turns the taps on and off quite regularly.

I'm surprised that it has taken Putin this long to take this action. Shutting down/ Disrupting gas supplies is obviously his most effective non-violent weapon against the West.