Brussels’ 21st sanctions package on Moscow exposes the failure of its strategy to end the Ukraine war
The year is 2050.
Ursula von der Leyen, who has defied critics (and media reports) to win an unprecedented seventh term as European Commission president, steps into the disappointingly modest ‘VIP corner’ of the Berlaymont. The gaggle of assembled journalists immediately falls silent.
“Twenty-eight years after the start of its full-scale invasion, Russia has clearly failed to subjugate Ukraine,” von der Leyen says, her surprisingly sprightly voice belying the fact that she is now 92 years old. “That is why, today, we are putting forward our 137th sanctions package.”
A pause. No one speaks. One reporter yawns.
