By continuing to supply Russia's NATO enemies with energy, the Kremlin is throwing away a powerful lever by providing NATO countries the time they need to acquire alternatives to Russian energy, thus minimizing the damage of US sanctions to NATO economies.  By failing to use the energy weapon, the Kremlin is the main cause of the expansion of the conflict in Ukraine.  It is unprecedented that a country at war helps its enemies keep killing its own  troops.  Russia's self-defeating policy encourages more Western provocations.  The Kremlin says it doesn't want war, but its self-defeating policies lead to Armageddon.  With the Kremlin showing more concern with protecting its NATO enemies' economies than for the lives of its own troops, Russia is not taken seriously by the West.  Thus, wider war seems inevitable.