Five months into the war: Unprecedented sanctions on Russia cut both ways

European leaders have had to give up a reliable source of energy supply, and now they must militarise their economies while being asked to fund Ukraine militarily and economically, writes T N Ninan

Ukraine looms large on a map. It is the biggest country in Europe (not counting Russia), at about a fifth of India in terms of geographical spread. But such size is often deceptive. Its GDP is (or was) only one-twentieth India’s. And its population is only twice that of Sri Lanka. This is not a country that should be taking on a former superpower like Russia, however diminished. That it has survived five months of an increasingly brutal war, ceding some territory while fighting Russia to a near-standstill, is testimony as much to Ukrainians’ fighting spirit and ingenuity as it