News Analysis Petrol prices in the United States  and around the world have hit highs not seen since 2014. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine resulting in decertification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and the subsequent Western sanctions, prices are expected to climb even higher, but China will not have to pay the price. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned that China, North Korea, and Iran are watching the United States right now, and that America’s handling of the Ukraine crisis will determine the future behavior of these belligerent states. He went on to say that all free nations would be imperiled if Russian President Vladimir Putin were not stopped. McConnell demanded more severe sanctions be placed on Russia than those that followed Russia’s previous invasions of Ukraine and Georgia. Last year, the United States pressured Berlin to halt the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which connects Russia …