Commentary: The West is learning the cost that comes from sanctioning Russia

In the six months since Russian forces started bombarding Ukrainian cities with artillery and missile strikes, the United States and its European allies have stuck with a two-pronged strategy against Russia: provide Kyiv with the military equipment it needs to stall and potentially reverse Russian military advances on the ground, and enact a series of punishing economic sanctions to degrade Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine. Multiple sanctions packages have been passed in both Washington and Brussels, the latest being a July 21 measure by the European Union barring the import of Russian