EU and US leaders have said there is no business as usual with Russia after it started the war in Ukraine.
Sanctions have curbed credit and technology exports to its top firms. Blacklists have stigmatised its elite. Nato is creating a force in the Baltic region in case the new Cold War escalates and every day Russian TV broadcasts shows that demonise the West.
But none of this has discouraged five EU firms from investing billions in an unusual project to redraw the map of Russia...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.