How Sanctions Can Cripple Russia’s War Machine

by April 2026

In a powerful essay published by The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune, Dariia Skochenko and Melinda Haring deliver a message that is clear, urgent, and unforgiving: sanctions can cripple Russia’s war machine — but only if the West stops treating sanctions as declarations and starts treating them as weapons.
The authors bring both moral clarity and strategic expertise.
Dariia Skochenko, an economics student at the University of Maryland and an intern at Razom for Ukraine, speaks from a generation watching the cost of hesitation in real time.
Melinda Haring, a senior advisor at Razom for Ukraine, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, and a member of the editorial board of the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune, brings the experience of someone who understands Washington, Ukraine, and the architecture of pressure.

The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune