Push Back on Putin’s Energy Warfare

Russian president Vladimir Putin has just increased by over forty percent the price of natural gas Russia supplies to Ukraine.

This isn’t the first time Putin has used energy as a weapon against Ukraine and others. We should be doing everything possible to make it the last time, though.

Russia’s role as a major exporter of oil and natural gas is a two-edged sword. Yes, the Kremlin can squeeze those dependent on its exports for political or strategic purposes. But the Russian economy is also critically dependent upon such energy sales.

Three decades ago, President Reagan devised a strategy for driving down energy prices as a means of countering, and ultimately destroying, Putin’s beloved Soviet Union. A similar effort, made possible by America’s burgeoning oil and gas reserves, needs to be mounted today.