If all went well for Mazhit Ismailov, he’d soon be able to drive his truck through one of the biggest loopholes in the European Union’s sanctions against Moscow.

The gangly 22-year-old had been stopped by Latvian border guards as he tried to enter Russia. The issue wasn’t so much the load he was carrying, as the vehicle itself. Trucks like his have been banned from crossing over fears they could be deployed to the battlefield in Ukraine.

Ismailov wasn’t too worried though. He would be able to cross if he could convince the guards he was carrying legitimate cargo destined for another country like Kazakhstan. And…