"Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, America and Europe have been trying to find a balance between helping Ukraine while also avoiding going to war with Russia themselves, because nobody wants World War III — I mean, other than defense contractors and those people who sell merch in the trenches," Trevor Noah said on Thursday's Daily Show. "But one of the weapons the West has been using agents Russia is sanctions," and "one of the most significant sanctions America and Europe have imposed is going after oligarchs."
The oligarchs, Noah explained, are Russian billionaires who were gifted entire industries after the formerly communist Russia sold off state-owned assets — or were re-gifted those industries by Russian President Vladimir Putin when he took over in 2000. So now, "Europe and America are handling Putin the way you handle any breakup: by blocking him and all his friends," he added. "And you might be wondering: The oligarchs didn't start the war, they're not ordering troops to bomb hospitals, so why are they being targeted by the sanctions?"
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