Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal proposed introducing tariffs on Russian goods to finance Ukraine's reconstruction. The funds needed, according to Polish media, amount to about 600 billion dollars over ten years. Moscow reacted immediately - and symmetrically.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, proposed a reciprocal response: introducing new taxes on Russian exports to the EU, including fertilisers, earmarked for financing the Russian military-industrial complex. We should respond in kind, Medvedev stated.

Behind this is the frozen Russian foreign exchange reserve - almost 300 billion euros, of which over 200 billion are in the EU, mainly through the Belgian clearing system Euroclear. The West froze them after the start of the invasion of Ukraine. Now pressure is growing to use those assets directly for reconstruction.

Will this cycle of reciprocal economic measures produce anything concrete - or remain another exchange of statements? The history of sanction rounds between Russia and the West gives no cause for optimism. Every measure breeds a countermeasure, and citizens pay the price - in the east and in the west alike.