With the global economy already teetering as the result of the coronavirus outbreak that is now officially a pandemic, Saudi Arabia’s young and powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has risked pushing the world into recession by firing a shot directly into the oil markets. It was a trademark move by the prince, known as MBS, who has shown he can be brazen and ruthless—and occasionally self-destructive—when he’s determined to get his way.

On Sunday night, MBS announced that Saudi Arabia would sharply increase its oil output despite a steep decline in global demand. It was precisely the opposite of what oil producers normally do, and it worsened an existing slump and immediately triggered a wave of panic selling across already-anxious markets around the world. Oil prices fell by an incredible 30 percent as markets opened Monday, and by the time the markets closed on Wall Street, major indexes had experienced their deepest losses since the global financial crisis a dozen years ago.

MBS was flexing his economic muscle, hoping to send a message to oil producers—particularly to Russia—that Saudi Arabia under his leadership will call the shots, regardless of the cost.

The move was reminiscent of other extreme actions by the crown prince. In 2017, when Qatar would not hew to his line against Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, he imposed a draconian blockade of the kingdom’s tiny neighbor and former ally, causing a rift in the once-unified Gulf Cooperation Council that remains today. That strategy has so far failed to dissuade Qatar from continuing with its own foreign policy. Similarly, in 2015, MBS launched a devastating war in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthis, turning a civil war there into a wider proxy war. Five years on, the conflict has produced a humanitarian catastrophe in the Arab world’s poorest country, at a steep financial cost to Saudi Arabia, but the Houthis are still fighting. When Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist based in the United States as a columnist for The Washington Post, refused to stop criticizing Riyadh, he wound up assassinated and dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The CIA believes MBS ordered the killing. In addition to its human cost, the murder has dented the prince’s global reputation.

With the oil bet, MBS took on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Despite its high costs, it could still pay off, but there’s no guarantee.

It also comes amid renewed palace intrigue in Riyadh. The crown prince is further consolidating his position as de facto ruler and heir to the throne. In the past few days, he ordered the arrest of four senior princes, including the former crown prince whom he had already shoved aside.

The decision to boost oil output came following a meeting of OPEC members and Russia. The oil producers were discussing a proposal to slash output by 1.5 million barrels per day starting in April to prop up prices amid collapsing global demand brought on by the coronavirus outbreak, which has forced factories to shut down and people to cancel flights and other travel. But Russia refused to go along with the plan, dooming any coordinated cut to output, because Putin thought cuts would help America’s shale oil producers, which would not only benefit from higher prices but could capture market share from Russia and OPEC.

MBS would have none of it. Not only did he surprise everyone, it seems, with a decision to raise output, the magnitude of the increase proved he meant war—an oil price war against Russia. Starting in April, Riyadh announced, it would bring an eye-popping 12.3 million barrels per day to market—its highest amount ever and an increase of more than 2.5 million barrels per day from its current level. The number exceeds Saudi production capacity, which means the kingdom will dip into its reserves to artificially depress oil prices.

MBS has shown he’s not afraid of risk, or of public opinion, but his decision-making style can leave a trail of destruction.

Ironically, the dramatic drop in prices is a body blow to American shale producers, whose production price could exceed the level at which they could sell their oil, unwittingly helping Putin achieve the very goal he sought when he refused to go along with the original Saudi plan.

Moscow’s initial reaction to MBS was one of bravado. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Russia might just up its own output by half a million barrels per day.

The Saudi oil spike is scheduled to happen in more than two weeks, and undoubtedly the maneuvering will continue until then. But like all wars, this one could leave casualties on both sides, along with extensive collateral damage, as this week’s stock market collapse showed.

For Saudi Arabia—and for MBS—this is a high-risk move. The crown prince has shown he’s not afraid of risk, or of public opinion, but his decision-making style can leave a trail of destruction. That’s not a useful message to send to investors and global leaders when you’re trying to convince them to make massive investments in your country. In the end, perhaps even more than the Yemen war or the killing of Khashoggi, flooding the market with oil at great cost to Saudi Arabia could set back MBS’ plan to diversify the Saudi economy and move it away from oil, a fast-dwindling resource.

With his gambit, the crown prince has also caused troubles for President Donald Trump in an election year. Trump, who rose to MBS’ defense in the wake of Khashoggi’s murder, initially tried to paint the oil price drop as good news for consumers, with “gasoline prices coming down!” But the stock market swoon, and the realization that it could wound American oil companies and shale oil producers, some in electoral battleground states, soon changed the calculus.

The drop in oil prices is problematic for just about every oil producer around the world. With oil prices below $40 a barrel, national budgets are in peril, particularly in profligate states accustomed to gushers of cash. Saudi Arabia needs oil prices of at least $80 a barrel to cover its fiscal expenses. It does, of course, have large cash reserves to weather any difficulties. But is this self-inflicted crisis worth it?

Russia’s cash reserves are not nearly as massive as Saudi Arabia’s, but the Russian economy is also far less reliant on oil than the kingdom’s. For Saudi neighbors that are reliant on oil revenues, this is terrible news—particularly for Iraq, where there are still ongoing protests that represent a major sociopolitical crisis.

With MBS’ high-stakes showdown, it’s possible that Moscow will reconsider its decision to balk at cutting oil output and that the crown prince will ultimately get his way. Perhaps as a prelude, Russia’s Energy Ministry will hold talks with Russian oil companies “to discuss future cooperation with OPEC,” according to Reuters.

The future Saudi king has again shown he will stop at nothing to achieve his ends, and the rest of the world has taken notice. But not everyone thinks that’s a desirable trait in an aspiring world leader.