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Sanctions are the West’s best friend. To date, the EU has approved 13 rounds of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, with plans for more over the death of Alexei Navalny. But just how effective are they? A new tweet thread by Sky’s Ed Conway examines how British companies are discreetly bolstering Vladimir Putin’s war machine by redirecting their goods through “neutral” countries such as Kyrgyzstan.
Which raises a question: is this kind of thing actually happening? Well let's look at UK exports to Kyrgyzstan and ask the question: have they gone up since the outbreak of war? Well, have a look… pic.twitter.com/f4mTLBPChb
— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) February 21, 2024
As the above graph shows, there has been a huge 1,100% spike in UK exports to the Central Asian country, raising further questions about the efficacy of the sanctions. And it’s not just UK companies either; this chart from economist Robin Brooks shows that Armenia has become a hub for the re-export of Western (EU) goods to Russia too. When will Western leaders finally admit that sanctions aren’t working?
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