The global spotlight is on the Russia-Ukraine crisis, which has been responsible for wreaking havoc on international fossil fuel markets. Western powers responded to the crisis by proposing a number of sanctions on Russia, including ones on its fossil fuel exports. Given the fact that Russia is a key player in the global oil and gas markets, the crisis, and subsequent sanctions spell potential disaster for international energy security. Europe is an especially vulnerable region, given its considerable reliance on Russia to satisfy its fossil fuel needs. This paper explores the possible effects of the sanctions that have been placed on Russian energy by the West and discusses whether Europe will be able to liberate itself of its historic dependency on Russian oil and gas.