month allowing a four month transition period for member states to complete ongoing orders. the new york times cited eu officials reports the block is now likely to adopt a similarly-phased ban of russian oil. it is a much bigger deal now. the times quotes the approach is designed to give germany in particular time to arrange alternative suppliers. have have been fears of a recession if this were to happen but it would certainly cut off a key source of financing for moscow s war machine. the eu s decision comes as russian president putin is now admitting the strain his country is facing from western sanctions. and in a virtual meeting yesterday, putin reportedly conceded to government officials that sanctions targeting russia s energy and gas imports had become a quote urgent problem. although the european union has so far resisted an outright ban on russian oil, many individual countries have taken steps to scale back energy usage for moscow. yesterday, putin claimed there was quote