Now the main vector of US policy will be Russia's isolation and an attempt to limit its ties with Western countries under the pretext of countering Russian hybrid aggression.

This is written on the Observer by Russian political scientist Vladislav Inozemtsev.

Of course, the matter will not reach a full-fledged trade blockade, but Washington is extremely interested in closing Russia's access to advanced technologies that Moscow alone can not develop and commercialize, informs eizvestia. Com.

In America, it is also understood that the further development of the national energy industry involves the expansion of shale oil and gas to the European market, and Russian companies here are competitors that it would be good to get rid of. In addition, the painful moment for the Kremlin will be Washington's response to Russian antics in cyberspace, which today concern American politicians much more than the Russian aggression against Ukraine - in this direction, I think, "the best forces" are concentrated, and Moscow is in for a lot of trouble.

Regarding Ukraine, I express limited optimism. Now Kiev can be a beneficiary not so much of its own achievements, as a sharp deterioration in US relations with the Russian Federation. In this context, it is quite possible to expect activation of cooperation on the military line up to the lifting of restrictions on the supply of lethal and offensive weapons; Participation of American diplomacy in the organization of the peace process, which could replace the discredited Minsk format; Pressure on the European allies for the sake of rendering them more significant assistance to the Ukrainian authorities.

At the same time, I am convinced that Ukraine itself will not become a more significant counterpart for the United States and the West as a whole as Russia - and therefore for the coming years Kiev will remain a kind of "change card" in the games of Washington and Moscow. For Ukraine, in my opinion, it is much more important to build relations with Europe than with the United States: it is in Europe that the keys to investment in Ukraine lie, to the next stages of integration into Euro-Atlantic structures, to a significant impetus in economic development.

However, Europe - and this is perfectly clear on the example of its reaction to new sanctions against Moscow - does not appreciate and will not appreciate the Ukrainian victims and the status of Ukraine as the "defense line" of the West against the "Russian horde". In order to interest the Europeans, Ukraine should be economically successful and should offer Europeans such options for cooperation that will be trivial to them.