Earlier this week, the European Union passed a landmark agreement banning most Russian oil imports into the region by the end of the year, though the embargo features a temporary exemption for imports delivered by pipeline in order to overcome opposition from landlocked Hungary. In late May, the U.S. Treasury declined to extend a license that allowed Russia to make payment on its sovereign debt to U.S. holders, possibly accelerating the prospect of Russia defaulting on its government debt.

To discuss these major developments and more happening in the sanctions campaign against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, The Naked Pravda welcomed back Dr. Maria Shagina, a political risk analyst and sanctions expert who works as a Diamond-Brown Research Fellow for Economic Sanctions, Standards, and Strategy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Timestamps for this episode:

• (1:48) What’s the significance of Russia’s current account surplus?
• (6:15) Has Western unity on economic sanctions against Russia peaked, or is the EU and U.S. capable of more?
• (7:52) What determines the divisions inside the European Union when it comes to confronting Russian aggression?
• (11:11) What are the main drivers of a potential global food crisis?
• (12:28) Does the West risk alienating large parts of the world by forcing higher energy costs on the Global South?
• (19:05) How have the sanctions against Russia affected the push for greener energy sources?
• (23:25) Have economic realities now put Russia definitively on an eastward trajectory? How fundamental is this to the country’s future development?

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