It is unlikely that view has changed. If anything, a regime that thrives off propaganda will be even more desperate to avoid any scenario that adds to the impression that Russia is a rogue creditor or has been weakened by sanctions.

Witness the Kremlin’s attempts to dismiss the default as a sham artificially engineered by the US and hostile Western powers. Anton Siluanov, the finance minister, has called the situation a “farce”. It has also made a last-ditch bid to service $US40 billion of outstanding sovereign debt with roubles, a move that creditors have already ruled out.

The idea that America is pulling the strings when it comes to Russia’s financial clout will infuriate Putin, but it is a timely reminder of who the real superpower in this battle is.

So yes, a debt default is in some ways symbolic – but hugely so because it underlines Russia’s dramatic decline from a country celebrated for its “fortress” economy to an economic and political basket case.

But it’s much more than that, even. Siluanov knows that the ramifications potentially spread much wider. This is all about Russia’s access to international financial markets and anything that dents its reputation, however manufactured it may be, with foreign lenders will make it harder for the Kremlin to borrow from them.

By affecting the country’s debt ratings, it doesn’t just make it more difficult to access financing, it becomes more costly to borrow too and because it was the US Treasury that forced Russia into default, it will be Washington that dictates when negotiations with its foreign creditors can begin.

This means Moscow could effectively be shut out of the global financial system for years, possibly even decades, Ash predicts.

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The idea that America is pulling the strings when it comes to Russia’s financial clout will infuriate Putin, but there is no doubt that it is a timely reminder of who the real superpower is in this battle.

Russia’s president has claimed that sanctions are a “double-edged sword” that are more painful for the West than Russia as Moscow starts to squeeze energy supplies, pushing Europe’s economy into a prolonged stagnationary era.

It is of course the unavoidable truth that Western consumers are suffering the price of the war in Ukraine, as energy bills, petrol costs, and food prices all keep being forced up, raising fears of a looming recession.

This has tested Western resolve, something that host Olaf Scholz admitted at a meeting of G7 leaders on Sunday in the Bavarian Alps. All the G7 states were worried about the “crises we currently face”, Germany’s chancellor said.

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Boris Johnson also warned of “fatigue” among “populations and politicians” but reiterated the need to maintain consensus, and Scholz said he was convinced the group would send a “very clear signal of unity and decisive action”.

Reports that the G7 is closer to reaching an agreement on a proposed price cap on Russian oil and gas are reassuring. Putin, like any autocratic leader, gains great strength from any sign of weakness in his enemies. Ukraine’s allies must stay the course and keep turning the screws.

With Joe Biden and US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen leading the way, Britain, France, and Italy reportedly backing a cap, and Berlin expected to follow suit shortly, the West may soon have a potent new weapon at its disposal.

The theory is that a buyers’ cartel would force down the value of the Kremlin’s most lucrative export by only allowing Russian oil and gas to be sold and stored at below a certain price, whereas a full boycott has pushed prices up.

A plan to allow China and India access to cheaper Russian energy is also a smart move because previously the Kremlin had been trying to circumvent sanctions by selling its crude and gas to more sympathetic nations.

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The Kremlin is wrong to claim the war has changed nothing. The default, however “engineered”, is in itself proof that sanctions are well and truly working.

Meanwhile, the promise of a fresh round of penalties suggests that far from weary, or cowed, the West remains more determined than ever to help Ukraine defeat Putin’s invading army.

Telegraph, London

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