A New York Times
report
says that Russia is making gains in its war against Ukraine, while the United States and its allies suffer from high energy prices, inflation and the cost of living.
And after four months of war in Ukraine, countries allied against Russia are facing growing economic pain even as Western sanctions and energy embargoes have had the pressing effect of Russian President Vladimir Putin's military campaign or his political situation at home.
He added that US officials had asserted that the Russian financial system would be damaged if Russia attacked Ukraine, and US President Joe Biden boasted in March that sanctions were "crushing the Russian economy" and that "the ruble is being reduced to rubble."
But Russian oil revenues hit record highs as crude oil prices soared.
After falling in February, the ruble hit a 7-year high against the dollar this week.
However, Biden administration officials say the Russian economy is taking a toll over time, especially as restrictions on technology exports to Russia impede the gradual growth of its industries from space to computing.
On Thursday, a White House spokesman said that the leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized countries, at their summit, will discuss new plans to further "tighten the screws" on the Russian economy.
Economic pressures that the West did not expect
The report added that few Biden administration officials expected that the sanctions would lead to an immediate halt to the war.
But the administration and its European counterparts also did not anticipate the economic pressures they now face.
Despite initial assurances that sanctions would not touch Russia's energy exports, America has since banned imports of Russian oil, and the European Union has announced plans to cut its imports by 90% this year.
Partly as a result of these measures, energy prices have soared in the US and Europe, with regular gasoline averaging $5 a gallon in some US states.
The report predicted that Republicans will benefit from the rising cost of living in the upcoming midterm elections.
The end of summer will also bring temperatures down in Europe amid growing alerts that Moscow is choking off natural gas supplies.
Painful development
In a painful development, sanctions and related embargoes are allowing America's biggest strategic competitor, China, to buy huge quantities of oil at deeply discounted prices, as Russia seeks clients willing to make up for lost revenue.
The report pointed to the rise in inflation and the cost of living in America at a faster pace than White House officials expected.
Patience and waiting game
The main question now, says the report, is whether patience with sanctions is running out in Western capitals?
Speaking to reporters last week, Biden said, "At some point, this will be a waiting game: what the Russians can keep and what Europe will be willing to put up with," adding that that would be a topic of discussion at the G7 summit.
A growing issue in Washington and European capitals - and closely watched by the Kremlin - is the possibility of a strong divergence of opinion among policymakers on further sanctions.
On Monday, Jens Ploetner, a foreign policy adviser to German Chancellor Olaf Schulz, said Germans needed to have a serious discussion on the "exciting and relevant" issue of the country's long-term relationship with Russia, which was widely interpreted as a sign that Schulz favored an approach. More conciliatory with Moscow.
The report quoted Gerard Debebeau, senior researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and former chief US intelligence officer on economic issues, as saying that America has reached the political limits of sanctions, and new sanctions may not be necessary, and they are certainly not sufficient to achieve an acceptable end to the conflict, but the Ukrainian victories in The battlefield - he says - may be necessary and sufficient, and "this should be the focus of American policy."