“3) That sanctions would leave the Russian economy in tatters, all while Russia’s economy expanded at 3.9% rate last year.”
LOL!. Expanded due to military spending left as trash on the battlefield.
Don’t trust Russian data.
Money obtained from their old age pension fund.
No because rich Russians were forced to keep and invest their money in Russia and because Russia had no problem finding other buyers for their oil and natural resources, which third parties sold back to the morons in Europe at higher prices.
Russia is getting everything it wanted out of this war -- the annexed territory, a land bridge to Crimea, control of almost the entire Black Sea coastline and removal of NATO from Ukraine.