Looks like a Russian refinery over in the Rostov region is going up in flames right now. Word on the street is an Ukrainian drone flew in and handled business. https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/s...e_BnWz5GA&s=19
A former finance minister actually told Putin what everyone else is too terrified to even whisper: "Our economy is headed straight for a disaster!"
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The former finance minister of the Russian Federation, Alexei Kudrin, gave Vladimir Putin a blunt warning that the war in Ukraine is going to absolutely wreck the Russian economy, according to reports from the independent news outlet Meduza.
Citing two different sources inside The Kremlin, Meduza is reporting that Kudrin—speaking in his capacity as head of the parliamentary Department of Finance—sat down with Putin back in March. Interestingly, the President's office didn't officially announce that meeting until June 14th of this year, and even then, their official press release conveniently left out any mention of the situation in Ukraine.
It feels like everyone is just freaking out over gas prices while the sanctions are actually tearing the country apart. After the CEO of JPMorgan Chase basically said Russia would still be feeling the sting of these sanctions ten years down the road, we now have yet another voice who actually knows what they're talking about—unlike some other folks—predicting that the brutal times ahead for Russia have already kicked in.
Russia is going to have a hell of a time digging itself out of this mess. They can lie to themselves and the rest of the world all they want, claiming these sanctions aren't doing anything or that they're actually making them stronger, but when reality finally hits them right in the face, that blow is going to be even more devastating.
Jessica Peterson2 said:The caption mentions this footage was originally pulled from the official Telegram channel belonging to the Dagestani Department of Agriculture 😲
Department of Agriculture successful recruitment. Looks like these reinforcements will be heading over to Ukraine before we even know it. 🤣
It honestly feels like Russia is making massive strides in every single direction lately, while the European Union and the United States just seem to be sliding backward.
People over in Russia can't even download Windows 10 or 11 anymore. It looks like Microsoft might have quietly expanded their sanctions against Russia behind the scenes, because ever since this past weekend, trying to grab those Windows ISO files from their official sites has become basically impossible over there.
Russians are claiming: 51 Americans have been killed in Ukraine so far, and 74 have deserted
According to the Russian Department of Defense—which was reported on by Reuters—as many as 51 Americans have been killed since this whole "special operation" kicked off in Ukraine. They’re even going so far as to claim that the group of American soldiers is the fourth largest contingent coming out of all of Europe.
I mean, honestly, how much of this stuff coming from the Russians can we actually take as gospel?
rowdypilot53 said:Ukraine won't win this war with the current level of aid. I can only hope the actual support exceeds what is being publicized. A dozen Boeing vehicles and perhaps 200 howitzers simply won't shift the needle. The reality is that Russia maintains the initiative, artillery superiority, and air dominance with fewer than 200,000 troops on the ground, and they seem in no hurry at all. If things remain as they are, I doubt they will stop at the Donbas; I am convinced their targets include Odessa and much of the East, provided they have the capacity...
The Russians are certainly taking losses, but in a country of that size, finding replacements for the dead and wounded is manageable. Compared to the scale of their nation, these numbers are relatively small.
As for whether the West will send more weapons—I certainly hope so. It is surprising that more hasn't arrived by now. I had higher expectations for those smaller drones; they seem like the perfect tool for picking apart the Russian artillery that drives their offensive power. If you can knock out ten howitzers and Boeing units every single day, even their resources will feel the strain, especially when they can't strike without fearing a drone payload. Either the Ukrainians lack sufficient drones, they aren't effective enough, or Russian electronic warfare is proving quite capable...
One also wonders about the fall and winter. Logically, Russia's leverage should increase due to energy supplies. However, based on how much Putin mentioned sanctions in his speech yesterday, it is clear they are still stinging...
Russia must be stopped in Ukraine. Not because I believe they have the strength to push further, but because we cannot allow the precedent of non-aggression being ignored for territorial conquest. Regime changes might be survivable, and separatism might be managed, but this is pure aggression aimed at annexation and the erasure of a sovereign nation...
That is exactly it! If we let this kind of violent takeover become the new normal where one country just denies another exists, we're basically signing a permission slip for a dozen different hotspots to pop up all over the globe using the exact same playbook. We'd be looking at total chaos.
Transit for sanctioned goods headed to the Kaliningrad region has been totally blocked off by rail. Honestly, I’m not even surprised that Putin was out there yesterday throwing a massive tantrum about the sanctions—it's such a classic move, right? He tries to twist the narrative to make it look like he's actually worried about the poor European Union getting squeezed, when in reality, he's just trying to hide how Russia is actually using these sanctions to toughen up. It was honestly kind of hilarious; even his high-profile guest from the Taliban looked like he was nodding off while he was busy spinning those lies.
Lithuania has shut down rail transit for sanctioned goods moving from other parts of Russia up to the Kaliningrad region.
The European Union has slapped a ban on up to 50% of cargo, covering everything from construction supplies and metals to other essential goods being moved by rail.
It looks like those leased planes that Russia is refusing to return are starting to pop up all over the globe.
#Aeroflot is not happy with Sri Lanka. The Russian carrier had an Airbus A330 seized while it was about to take from Colombo at the request of an Irish lessor Celestial Aviation. ● Can you believe this? The whole plane ✈ was packed with people who ended up having to get off mid-trip. https://twitter.com/jason_corcoran/s...Jt-4HpU_g&s=19
slyfox43 said:Perhaps it's a bit of reputation laundering for blood oil that nobody actually wants to touch—not unlike the way people try to clean up the image of blood diamonds. At the end of the day, trying to sell us a bill of goods is just a straight-up scam.
Cost and whitewashing.
Russia is sinking deeper into a state of total untouchability, and I truly hope my colleagues are just as vocal about these things when they aren't hiding behind anonymous handles on a forum, so that their real-world peers know exactly who they're doing business with.
Because if they aren't, it would be pretty cowardly.
The sanctions can't touch them because they're just selling their oil at a discount and drifting across the ocean like tiny-time smugglers. It’s pretty obvious they’re sweating over where to dump all that crude, and the global market isn't going to wait around for them. If the European Union embargo really hits hard, you can bet the seas will be absolutely crawling with full tankers.
It looks like Russ is playing a game of hot potato with their oil, moving it from one tanker to another right in the middle of the Atlantic just to dodge those sanctions.
We’ve been keeping a close eye on a pretty sketchy situation involving two ships trying to pull off a ship-to-ship transfer of Russian oil further out into The Atlantic ocean. What's really wild is they don't even seem to have any tug boats helping them out, which totally flies in the face of standard safety protocols. It's definitely something to watch.
I've already sent all the specifics over to our clients. https://twitter.com/TankerTrackers/s...FW8s311WQ&s=19
So, I was just reading that Canada is actually looking into passing legislation to seize those frozen Russian assets, and then they'd funnel all that cash directly into rebuilding Ukraine and providing compensation for the victims of the Russian aggression. It’s such a massive move, honestly!
Arthur Watson4 said:Did the Pentagon announce that Ukraine received more aircraft?
Edit: ah, I see "aircraft," my auto-translate tripped up.
The truth. NEW: @PentagonPresSec just mentioned that Ukraine "have received additional aircraft and the aircraft parts to help them get more more aircraft in the air" recently
It looks like Indian companies are finally starting to play it safe when it comes to dealing with Russian oil, especially since they’ve already been snagging those sweet discounted prices for a while now.
exclusive news report Some banks have actually pulled the plug on credit lines for oil imports handled by Nayara, an Indian refiner owned by Rosneft, according to some sources https://www.reuters.com/business/exc...source=twitter
Whenever I hear Peskov claiming there’s absolutely zero chance of a Russian debt default, I just know we should probably start preparing for the exact opposite
Honestly, when you see things like canned beef or goulash being locked up behind security cages at the local Walmart alongside the cheese and stuff, you know the economy is hitting a weird spot. It’s a clear sign that sanctions aren't really biting and people still have enough spending power to be out there buying whatever they want, even if the vibe in the aisles feels a little intense.
Russia is basically teetering on the edge of total bankruptcy right now. S&P just dropped Russia’s rating down to "selective default," which is pretty much the final warning shot before they officially go under. It honestly looks like those legendary Russian reserves are finally running on fumes.
Things are looking pretty rough for Russia right now. Honestly, I’d sell everything I own just to get out of this mess. It’s basically a total fire sale at this point. I mean, think about it—it’s getting to the stage where Russia actually has to go begging and offer massive discounts to India just to convince them to buy any oil at all.
#Russia Offers Discounts on Oil to India, One of Putin's Few Fuel Buyers
They're talking about slashing prices on Urals crude by as much as $35 a barrel!
Transactions will be routed between Rosneft and Indian Oil #oott