The export of toilet products to Russia has been banned by the EU to punish Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine.
The European Union has deployed one of the major weapons in its arsenal - which is particularly risky for Putin because one in five Russians don't have indoor plumbing.
Since the start of the war, which approaches its one-year anniversary next week, Russian troops have been caught looting Ukrainian homes so they can send the lavatories home to their families.
The new law - which was implemented last summer - has banned the export of all "bidets, lavatory pans, flushing cisterns and similar sanitary ware" produced in EU countries.
The prohibition has been branded the "toilet war".
One European diplomat said: “The flushing toilet has done more for civilisation than any other single invention.
“So by restricting exports, we are merely bringing Russia’s technological advancement in line with the state of its civilisation.”
Britain has also joined forces to bar exports of "toilet articles of porcelain or china", and "lavatory pans".
Volodymyr Zelensky has referenced Russia's odd looting tactics of swiping toilets from Ukrainian homes twice.
“[Russians] used to talk about their biggest dream, to see Paris and die... Their dream now is to steal a toilet and die,” Zelensky said in April.
In January, he added: "Let them take the toilet bowls – they’ll need them on the road – and go back home.”
The same bizarre thievery was rumoured to take place during Russia's 2008 invasion of Georgia.
An EU diplomat said: “Russian soldiers are looting toilet bowls from Ukrainian towns.
"Despite inflated Russian growth figures, this shows how far down the drain their economy really is, as a result of crippling Western sanctions.”
The lavatory ban came into force in July last year, but has only just been reported.
It outlawed the devices alongside a longer list of sanctioned goods designed to punish Russia.
It comes after Western officials revealed how Putin's invasion of Ukraine is triggering a fall in Russia's birth rate.
With young Russian men fighting and dying in the war - and other families fleeing their homeland to avoid being dragged into the conflict - the impact on the nation’s future is already unfolding, sources said.
“Our expectation is that we are going to see some really serious social decline,” said officials.
“Very large numbers of young, educated Russians have fled the country; there are already some early figures coming in showing significant declines in the birth rate.
“We are seeing an increase in violent crime, repression continues to increase (and) propaganda continues to intensify.”
They added: “A huge shadow hangs over Russia’s present and its future.”
