European Union begins ban on Russian diesel over war in Ukraine
PBS NewsHourAPR 2023
This is just the latest facet of Putin's energy blackmail following his failed attempt last year to weaponize natural gas. Europe did suffer from high natural gas prices but managed to replace much of the loss from other sources, and prices have since come down. Russia's attempt to pull another stunt like that will most likely fall flat.
Amid repeated warnings of such a move — that clearly fell on deaf ears — in the case of further price ceilings, this should come as no surprise: It's a natural response to restore market relations following the West's destructive disruptions that upset the volatile global oil market.