This is interesting:
The body of the article is behind a paywall, but according to the Wall Street Journal the oil companies and banks are showing more balls against Russia than the POTUS and the EU by not buying Russian crude.
In their broadside of sanctions on Russia, the U.S. and its allies are going out of their way to spare energy shipments and keep economies humming and voters warm.
The oil market went on strike anyway. Acting as if energy were in the crosshairs of Western sanctions officials, refiners balked at buying Russian oil and banks are refusing to finance shipments of Russian commodities, according to traders, oil executives and bankers.
<snip>
Traders are offering Urals at massive discounts—as much as $18 a barrel below the price of Brent—and even then not finding buyers. A drop in the price of Espo, a grade of Russian crude popular in Asia, suggests refiners in Japan and South Korea are hitting pause on purchases alongside those in Europe and the U.S.
“The market is starting to fail,” said a person at a major commodities trading house.
Russia Scrambles to Maintain Oil Sales, Lifeblood of Economy - WSJ