3 ms·

If by "other sources" you mean Latvia, India, and the like, then sure. Maybe you would like to know who that oil and gas is really coming from (or maybe not if

If by "other sources" you mean Latvia, India, and the like, then sure. Maybe you would like to know who that oil and gas is really coming from (or maybe not if you want to sleep well at night — that what others have been doing). I've read enough of this bullshit about Putin supposedly being out of rockets, Russian economy supposedly collapsing in a couple of weeks, etc, to not believe any word of it. And I really hoped it would happen quickly (dig into my comments if you don't believe me) because what he's been doing to Ukraine destroyed me emotionally — unlike most Westerners who didn't know what Ukraine was until very recently.

VincentEvans 4y ago
Russian state is under tremendous financial stress. If one were to listen to sources projecting an imminent collapse - they’d be disappointed, but still it is happening, albeit not as quickly as some have hoped. The western countries despite their best intentions couldn’t move as quickly as some have hoped - whatever costs they impose on Russia are often a double-edged sword and risk harming their own economies. Before one dismisses it as cynical - one must realize that to ensure long-term support for Ukraine - politicians have to be careful and court the public opinion in their own countries, and an economic burden will not help that cause. But still - claims of some magical resilience of Russian state to the biggest collection of economic sanctions in history - is also a form of Russian propaganda. The extraordinary outflows of investment capital, flight of economically mobile population, import and export bans, loss of western gas and oil markets - is and will be more effective with every passing day. The alternative to this gradual effect - is an overwhelming military defeat as the result of bold offensive action by NATO, but one can only guess how this would end. So we must wait.
Bayart 4y ago
On top of increased capacity from Algeria, Norway etc., a lot of it just comes from the US. On the effects of Western sanctions and the like, Perun did a very complete sum-up three weeks ago : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmO1kfCr_II https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmO1kfCr_II

VincentEvans 4y ago

Russian state is under tremendous financial stress. If one were to listen to sources projecting an imminent collapse - they’d be disappointed, but still it is happening, albeit not as quickly as some have hoped. The western countries despite their best intentions couldn’t move as quickly as some have hoped - whatever costs they impose on Russia are often a double-edged sword and risk harming their own economies. Before one dismisses it as cynical - one must realize that to ensure long-term support for Ukraine - politicians have to be careful and court the public opinion in their own countries, and an economic burden will not help that cause. But still - claims of some magical resilience of Russian state to the biggest collection of economic sanctions in history - is also a form of Russian propaganda. The extraordinary outflows of investment capital, flight of economically mobile population, import and export bans, loss of western gas and oil markets - is and will be more effective with every passing day. The alternative to this gradual effect - is an overwhelming military defeat as the result of bold offensive action by NATO, but one can only guess how this would end. So we must wait.

Bayart 4y ago

On top of increased capacity from Algeria, Norway etc., a lot of it just comes from the US. On the effects of Western sanctions and the like, Perun did a very complete sum-up three weeks ago : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmO1kfCr_II https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmO1kfCr_II