As Europe barrels into its 17th round of sanctions on Russia, it’s 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 Trump’s 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 unraveling. Brussels has leapt ahead-metaphorically skydiving into a turbulent storm-while Trump remains at the hatch, arms folded, clearly unimpressed. The spectacle raises the question: is this solidarity, or is the EU acting on muscle memory while the US charts a new course?

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz tried to maintain the illusion of cohesion, tweeting that Europe and America are “very united” in their support for Ukraine and ceasefire efforts. But the reality is different. Trump has made it increasingly clear that he views the sanctions regime as a costly and ineffective endeavor-one that undermines the EU far more than it pressures Moscow.

As Trump himself put it: “There’s a chance of getting something done, and if you do that, you could also make it much worse.” Translation: The US is no longer interested in flailing around with a sanctions playbook that has done little to end the war but plenty to........

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