Those $500 bills might seem useful right now, but once they eventually end up back at the Fed or some big bank and get pulled from circulation, meaning they just get destroyed.
From what I can gather, if an S-300 doesn't have its radar running constantly—and these things are mobile, after all—it’s a real pain for the Russians to pin them down. So, getting these over to Ukraine actually makes sense. Thnx
Fine, let's just call the Iskander a "short-range missile" instead. The math on this whole operation doesn't seem to add up if you haven't even secured S-300 coverage first.
Actually, thinking about it—the S-300 itself probably isn't even getting much protection from those Sukhoi strikes that have been getting too close for comfort...
Look, I’m definitely no military expert. But an S-300 system relies on radar—and once you flip that switch, the Russians see exactly where you are. From there, they can probably figure out if they're looking at an S-300 specifically. That’s a pretty sweet setup for them to call in a strike using two or three short-to-medium range missiles. Those few missiles alone could run a couple million dollars. Meanwhile, an S-300 costs somewhere between 120 and 150 million.
For that kind of cash, you could buy roughly 100 Iskander missiles and just level a Russian port in Sevastopol. No hard feelings—the Russians are combatants, and the S-300 is a legitimate target...
Hm, if you don't dangle a "carrot" in front of Vladimir Putin he isn't going to offer Ukraine any kind of truce
And let's be real—Ukraine needs time to prep for any potential counter-offensives.
Signing a ceasefire, a formal troop withdrawal and a suspension (not an outright repeal, just a suspension) of some sanctions—think things like sports bans or letting Russia sell gas, oil, and coal to the European Union again—could take the pressure off Vladimir Putin enough to make him think he can still control all of Ukraine in some hazy, distant future, even if he can't do it now.
In the meantime, we need to beef up the Ukrainian Armed Forces and work on making those eastern republics a total liability. They have to become a massive drain on Vladimir Putin— all cost and zero benefit.
How much sense does it actually make to send S-300s to Ukraine? We’re talking about hardware so expensive that Russ will gladly throw two or three Iskanders at it just to take it out. And you can't even complain—it's just a standard wartime objective. How much are we burning through here? $200 million? Russ will spend maybe $2-3 million. In my view, we should be focusing on organizing air defense using smaller, mobile units to pick off Sukhoi and MiG jets first. Then, an S-300 (or 400, or whatever similar system) could be brought in as the "crown jewel" of the air defense network—where everything else is positioned specifically to protect the S-300.
Let’s just point out that Putin actually did one thing that might actually help him when it comes to suspending sanctions: He pulled back from the outskirts of Kyiv, and whether he meant to or not, he shifted his focus to eastern Ukraine. And in eastern Ukraine, not everyone is exactly thrilled with the current state of affairs. It’s an unfortunate reality, but at least some countries might want to give Putin some credit for it. Which ones? Who knows.
Look, we’re all pretty fired up against Russia right now, but if the Russian military formally exits Ukraine (similar to how America "exited" places like Canada), then the question is how many countries will still be riding that wave of anger.
Over here, I wouldn't be surprised if Zoran Milanović finds something nice to say about Putin.
I assume that would open a window for Russia to have some Western sanctions suspended. (Judging by Sergey Lavrov, the sheer intensity of the sanctions caught them totally off guard.)
I think the USA and the EU are playing the long game—slowly strangling Russia. Kind of like an anaconda. From what I can tell, they’ve made a decent start—about 30% in just a month. And those sanctions? They'll likely drag on for years.
From what I’ve gathered, as early as month three Russia saw its raw material export revenues tank by about 30%. And that was just the warm-up. The sanctions hadn't even really started biting back yet. Negligible? Not even close...
I honestly don't buy the idea that sanctions are going to bring Russia down. At least not anytime soon. Just look at FR America or Iran. Since 2015, Iran has been under massive oil export bans—something Russia doesn't even have to deal with yet —and despite incredibly heavy sanctions, nothing has changed.
The religious leaders are still in power, and they’re still preaching about Americans being the enemy and all that.
Even back in the day with FR America, it took nearly a decade to actually get Slobodan Maddox to face justice—and that was when the USA had a much stronger hand than they do now.
Don't get me wrong, Russia isn't going to thrive under sanctions; they'll probably just slowly decline. But I doubt Putin will be touched for the next 5 to 10 years—unless there's some kind of palace coup.
After that, whether people like it or not, the next Russian President will eventually have to tell their own story. Though, let's be real: they probably won't tell a completely different story than Putin; the only real difference will be the methods used to carry out his policies.
From what I've gathered so far, I get the impression that these massive sanctions against Putin actually caught him off guard.
My guess? He’ll want to roll them back ASAP—but he can only do that if he makes some kind of formal withdrawal from Ukraine without actually stepping foot out of there. He'll need those buffer zones in the east to pull it off. Maybe that's why they're ramping up military recruitment over there?
If I go get a full blood panel done at the lab over on Runjanin using an internal referral from my primary care clinic, is there any way to have the results emailed to me—aside from them automatically landing in my doctor's inbox? The lady on the phone just gave me the "come in and we'll see" routine. Unbelievable.
Paying off a Swiss Franc loan is basically a guaranteed win. As for those of us stuck with the converted rates—well, we just have to wait a little longer, I guess. 🙂