European Union sanctions placed on Russia must ensure that the country “will feel the pain,” Irish EU affairs minister Thomas Byrne said on Feb. 22. “We’ve got to ensure that whatever happens, that Russia certainly feels the pain … and that’s going to happen,” Byrne told reporters. “Today, what has happened is a grotesque breach of international law, it’s a grotesque breach of the sovereignty of Ukraine.” Byrne’s comments come as the EU repeatedly warned it is ready to impose “massive consequences” on Moscow’s economy if Russia invades Ukraine, but has so far not launched such sanctions due to potential geopolitical consequences, particularly the EU’s close energy and trade ties with Russia. According to Eurostat, Russia is the fifth-largest trade partner of the EU, with imports of $177.9 billion and exports of $104.1 billion (pdf). A number of EU countries, such as Germany and the Czech Republic, also have a high reliance on Russian …