Putin losing his energy war with Europe as well as ground war in Ukraine

By Trey Thoelcke Updated Feb 28, 9:42AM EST · Published Feb 28, 4:39AM EST

Putin losing his energy war with Europe as well as ground war in Ukraine — © Adam Berry / Getty Images News via Getty Images

(A native of England, veteran journalist Matthew Diebel has worked at NBC News, Time, USA Today and News Corp., among other organizations.)

On Sunday evening of Presidents’ Day weekend, I went to a Ukraine fundraiser at a local community center. It was extremely moving, with a Ukrainian family on stage telling how they had fled the Russians twice — in 2014 during the invasion of the Donbas region and then about this time last year when Vladimir Putin’s forces hit Kharkiv, the nation’s second-largest city. The family’s story, plus a moving video, brought many, including me, to tears.

It is, of course, seemingly impossible to find any redeeming aspect to this horrific war. True, Ukraine’s brave defense and courageous counterattacks are beyond admirable. And then there is the determination and unity of Western countries — as evidenced by President Joe Biden’s cloak-and-dagger surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday — to help oppose Russian aggression. Additionally, increasing amounts of weaponry and ammunition are arriving to help the gritty Ukrainian forces both defend against and repel Putin’s hordes.

And then, in my email inbox, I saw these two headlines: “EU climate czar: Putin’s war accelerated green transition” and “Putin is staring at defeat in his gas war with Europe.”…

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.