EU governments did not dare to impose gas sanctions (not even now!) and it was Putin who miscalculated and "sanctioned himself." Happily, as many economists had argued, the damage to Russia was much larger than to Europe-- we had alternatives, he did not. https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-economy-is-starting-to-come-undone-431a2878
Every word of the fantastic last article before his arrest by @evangershkovich is informative. A brave and smart journalist- that was his crime. I hope for his fast release.