Russia's energy chokehold over the EU means it will continue to pose a danger, even if it's defeated in Ukraine

The goal of the West's support for Ukraine is to see Russia defeated so comprehensively that it is unable to invade other neighbors in the future, but that may not be possible despite their stiff Russia sanctions and arms support.

It's not the time to be relaxed. There should be no talk of ceasefires. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Friday that they need to make sure that Ukraine wins, that Russia withdraws, and that we never see this type of Russian aggression again.

Lloyd Austin, the US Defense Secretary, said in April that the US wanted to see Russia weakened to the point that it couldn't do the things it had done in invading Ukraine.

As long as Russia continues to be a major supplier of gas and oil to the EU, it will effectively have a chokehold over much of the region, and a revenue source to fuel future military campaigns. Russia has significant leverage and power even if Ukraine wins the war and regains its territory.

Russia exported less crude in April, but the rising prices resulted in $28 billion in energy export revenue. The Kremlin discounted its energy relative to other countries, solidifying its trade relationships with India and China. Commentators and Ukrainian leaders are arguing that the EU needs to do more to break its dependence on Russian energy.

Dymtro Kuleba, the top diplomat for Ukraine, said in April that the West should support Russia's war machine if it continues to buy Russian gas and oil. The impact of these economic penalties is limited by the ongoing Russian energy purchases by the West.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for sanctions against Russia in a virtual address to the World Economic Forum.

Valdis Dombrovskis, European vice president and commissioner for trade for the European Commission, told CNBC last week that we need to move away from our dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

We are in a situation where we are providing massive support to Ukraine with one hand and then we give money to Putin to keep fighting. The Associated Press reported that Dombrovskis said in separate comments that this clearly needs to stop.

The UK followed with a plan to phase out oil imports by the end of the year after the Biden administration banned Russian oil, coal, and natural gas.

The EU took a small first step by banning Russian coal in April, but it was only for a short time. Most Russian oil imports will be banned by the end of the year. The agreement was put on hold by the Hungarian Prime Minister because of economic concerns. The EU agreed to a partial embargo that bars sea shipments, but exempts Hungary from the embargo, because of its resistance to a complete ban.

This immediately covers more than 1/3 of oil imports from Russia, cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine, according to European Council president CharlesMichel.

Poland and Germany said they would stop imports.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that this will effectively cut around 90% of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year.

This isn't a total ban at the end of the day. The EU cannot quickly sever its ties to the Kremlin without facing a crisis of skyrocketing prices and slowing economic growth. Russia is raking in lots of cash to power its war effort. The country's oil and gas revenue rose in April despite a sharp drop in crude output. In March it was 1.2 trillion rubles.

More broadly, the Kremlin expects to bring in $321 billion from its energy business in 2022, up more than a third from last year.

Most of the business will come from India and China. Both countries have ignored sanctions and continued to buy Russian oil at a discount.

The EU is still a major buyer. According to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, the group has spent about $58 billion on Russian fossil fuels. China is the largest buyer of Russian gas, followed by Germany.

The EU wants to cut itself off from Russian energy. With prices at historic highs and a full embargo several years away, the bloc has little choice but to continue indirectly funding Putin's invasion.