Europe’s natural gas crisis shows the problem with industrial strategies that rely on Vladimir Putin. Some Western governments and companies still haven’t gotten the memo.
Recently, the European Union scrapped plans to include Russia’s VSMPO-Avisma in its seventh round of sanctions responding to the invasion of Ukraine. VSMPO is the world’s largest producer of titanium, which is essential for building aircraft because it is strong, resistant to corrosion and far lighter than steel. Almost half of global titanium is used in aerospace.