Those listening in the Kremlin likely see Austin’s statement as proof that Washington and the West are looking to box in Russia and prevent it from, as Putin has long promised, reemerging as a global superpower as it was during the Cold War.

“It looks like they’re not really interested in negotiations, and those that are calling for Russia not to win and calling on others to defeat Russia and to break to destroy Russia, which is what they’re doing by pumping Ukraine with weapons and lots and lots of weapons,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday. “If this continues, it doesn’t look likely that the negotiations will be productive.”

Moscow’s efforts at economic warfare are now going beyond tit-for-tat sanctions. The Russian state-run energy giant Gazprom said Wednseday it will shut off natural gas shipments to Poland and Bulgaria, ostensibly because the two countries refused to pay in rubles. In effect, it means that Russia is now weaponizing energy exports.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called the move a “direct attack,” while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it “blackmail.” Both leaders said officials had been preparing for this scenario.

“It is clear that at the moment the natural gas is being used more as a political and economic weapon in the current war,” Bulgarian Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov said.

Russia shows few signs of backing down despite the West’s more aggressive posture. Lavrov even warned that warned that the risk of nuclear war “is real, and it cannot be underestimated.”

The decision to better arm Ukraine could ultimately help it win the war. But with Russian troops being shot at with Western weapons, Putin may not be inclined to sue for peace.