"I don't blame any of you. The blame for everything that is happening lies solely with the Russian state," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at the start of a video message to EU leaders in Brussels, his manner unusually mild. All the same, the message made it abundantly clear what is at stake for his country.

Since the EU's previous, the fifth sanctions package, 74 children were killed, and numerous hospitals and schools reduced to rubble by the Russian army, Zelenskyy said. So why, he mused, can Russia still make almost a billion euros a day selling energy?

Really, why? The Europeans argued about an oil embargo against Russia for weeks. The unity the bloc had demonstrated in the first weeks of the war seemed to be over. Instead, Europe was caught up in an embarrassing, never ending story.

It appears the European Commission did not adequately prepare for the measures. Its representatives acted clumsily. At times, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — many had previously celebrated her as a strong European leader in times of war — sheepishly admitted that a breakthrough was still a long way off.

Orban emerged victorious

Hungary's "Putinversteher" Viktor Orban used the opportunity to present himself as a bona fide fighter for the interests of his country. Of course, it was all about his country's energy security. But it was also about EU funds, which Hungary is justifiable being denied because of its democratic deficits.

The fact that the leaders basically settled the dispute in the end is good for Ukraine and the EU. Even an oil embargo "light" is likely to affect Vladimir Putin and his regime. Germany and Poland declared they will renounce all Russian oil imports by the end of the year at the latest, so the measures will by then affect a total of 90% of all Russian oil deliveries to the EU, according to diplomats. That is an estimated several hundred million euros every day that will not flow into Putin's war chest.

Europe must pull itself together

But all is not well. Despite the agreement, European unity is starting to show cracks. At the moment, it seems utterly unlikely that the member states might take aim at Russian gas supplies any time soon. Yet so much is at stake.

Europe must pull itself together. Otherwise, Russia will exploit our weakness and play the Europeans off against each other. Gas supplies to the Netherlands have been cut off, and Denmark is apparently next. Bulgaria, Poland and Finland, too, no longer receive gas from Russia.

The fear is great that our societies will balk if prices continue to rise and inflation eats up our savings, if we experience firsthand what it means when war reigns in Europe. Politicians of all stripes are driven by this fear. They want to be re-elected. They have sworn to represent the interests of their country.

Fear of waning solidarity

But why are they so discouraged? They must find the strength to convince their citizens. There is a lot at stake — not least the question of whether Putin will win this stage of the war and feel emboldened to once more attack other parts of Ukraine like Kyiv. The EU is not a military power, but it is a major economic power. It must use that advantage before it is too late.

"Europe needs to show strength because Russia only sees strength as an argument," the Ukrainian president said in his speech to the EU leaders in Brussels, adding that domestic disputes only encourage Russia to put even more pressure on Europe.

This article has been translated from German.