Bangladesh, May 23 -- As Europe barrels into its 17th round of sanctions on Russia, its beginning to look less like a calculated geopolitical strategy and more like a stubborn addiction. Despite mounting evidence that sanctions are backfiring economically and geopolitically, the European Union remains locked in a cycle of punitive measures that appear more performative than effective. Meanwhile, the United States-under Donald Trumps renewed leadership-seems to be stepping back, watching the spectacle unfold like a skeptic at a political intervention.

On May 19, the German government confidently claimed that Washington would join the EU in slapping another set of sanctions on Russia. But as of today, the promised transatlantic unity is un...