Before he was President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy created and starred in a Ukrainian show about a history teacher who accidentally becomes the president after one of his rants about political corruption goes viral. pic.twitter.com/colJWXN5TZ
Three thoughts, adapted from my book The Art of Sanctions, on the Russia campaign thus far:
1) It's still early days, but the cohesion of the coalition facing Putin right now is remarkable. Coordination has been tight and messaging consistent. 1/9
Watching Putin's attack on Ukraine play out, I am struck by the thought that Putin learned the lesson from the wrong Afghanistan war. And he has also vastly misunderstood post-Zelenskiy Ukraine. 1/?
A Russian energy embargo would cause massive energy shortages in Europe, leading to blackouts and a deep recession. It would cause global oil prices to perhaps double.
As much as the world is mad at Putin, that is not a price the West is willing to pay.