Posts by Joshua Myers432

Bryan Booth82 said:Look, I didn't make this up—I'm just reporting what's being said. But if I’m being completely honest, I personally think $100 billion for this level of aggression is... well, frankly, it's a pittance.
I wouldn't be surprised if they blew past that number a long time ago. War is incredibly expensive, and let's face it, much of that cost hasn't even hit the books yet. We all know how this works: the bill always comes due eventually.
Best,

From a Western tactical standpoint, maybe so. But the real question is what these primitive Russian maneuvers—which look more like WWII than actual modern warfare—are actually costing them. Personally, I wouldn't worry about bankruptcy first; I'd worry about running out of people willing to fight. It’s clear Russia is banking on the idea that Europe will lose patience and force Ukraine to the negotiating table before the money runs out.

Bryan Booth82 said:https://focus.de/72885571

Since the very beginning of the aggression against Ukraine, the European Union has handed over a staggering $85 billion to Russia for fossil fuels—meanwhile, China has only chipped in $35 billion.
After China, Germany stands out as the biggest customer, shelling out $19 billion.

By the way, so far this entire aggressive campaign has cost Russia about $100 billion.

Now that Putin has choked off gas supplies to the EU (and honestly, I truly hope it stays that way!), that steady stream of cash from Europe has effectively dried up. Let’s be real: funding a continuous war isn't something that just happens by magic. 🤔🤔
I’ve never claimed to be a math whiz, but looking at these numbers, it seems like Putin might actually find himself in the red pretty soon.
Best regards,

The only part of your equation that holds water is the Russian revenue side. As for the expenses? That’s nothing but pure speculation...

Nathan Thomas12 said:If they're so weak, why aren't the Russians just cranking up the gas supply until those sanctions get lifted?

Let me hit you with a counter-question: if Russia is broke and their economy is falling apart, why aren't they selling gas at massive premiums to fill up their coffers?

electricsurfer47 said:I think you might be mixing things up a bit. The whole conversation around natural gas has always been about just making it through this winter—long-term, everyone's already looking at switching to other sources. Is that really so hard to wrap your head around?


If the sanctions weren't actually working, Russia wouldn't be constantly whining about how they don't matter. If they were fine, they'd just keep selling their gas and everything else they can and stay quiet. But that's not happening.

They're still out there throwing around threats of a Nuclear Bomb

basically, they're using intimidation and scary tactics hoping to spook Europe into lifting those sanctions.

The Nuclear Bomb threats aren't about Sanctions. They're about military training, equipment transfers, and who knows what else being sent to the Ukrainian side. Look, we aren't officially at war with Russia, but we aren't exactly far from it either. Those threats are clearly just a reflection of Russian weakness. If they actually had the leverage to act, they would be acting instead of making empty threats.

The only real card Russia is playing is energy warfare. They have nothing else to offer against the West. We'll see if that's enough. It's still too early to call it, but cracks in European unity are already starting to show.

Nathan Thomas12 said:Look, I get it—you're bummed about having too much stock piled up.

Honestly, why on earth would anyone be upset about that? 😁 If we actually had ten times the capacity and could fill it all with cheap gas, it might be an issue. But let's be real: we don't have the cheap supply, and those tanks aren't built for long-term holding anyway. You acting like this is a problem is a completely different matter. Just admit why you're playing dumb.

Nathan Thomas12 said:It’s obvious they’re just Kremlin shills on their keyboards, acting like everything is fine because Europe is busy filling up its gas storage facilities.

I filled up my tank yesterday. Now I'm sitting at 100%. Just great. 🎉 Hopefully, this will hold up for at least three months.

hollowdriver13 said:I mean, how long does it actually take to get a pipeline like that built?

And what kind of tech are they planning to use? Who's actually running the show when it comes to the pumps, turbines, and compressors needed for this kind of heavy lifting? 🥳

Don't sweat it, the Chinese will copy it. It might take them a little while, but they'll get there. Honestly, though, the real question is how long it would even take if they actually tried to rush the process—if you look at how the Russians operate, that kind of project would easily drag on for fifty years.

The real question is whether the Chinese actually want this.

Terry Hernandez10 said:Gloves are off

https://www.telegram.com/politics-crisis-why-are-you-surprised/

Moscow finally admitted there’s no gas because of sanctions. Medvedev insulted Scholz: 'Buddy, what are you surprised about?'

On Monday, The White House—well, the Russian side of things—finally dropped the facade and openly declared they won't fully restore the flow of natural gas to Europe until "the collective West" lifts the sanctions slapped on the Russian Federation following the invasion of Ukraine.

He told the truth. Why act surprised?

hollowdriver13 said:I’ve got a much simpler theory on this one: the US is going to keep backing Ukraine's flank for as long as it takes. Honestly, they're already way too deep in it. Plus, if Ukraine loses now, everyone would see it as a massive failure on the part of the West, and losing that kind of geopolitical soft power would be way too expensive to swallow.

I have an even simpler, more accurate theory: they’ll support them only as long as it serves their own interests. It could look like the way we’ve backed South Korea for decades, or they might just dump them to the wolves tomorrow. If I had to put money on it, though, I’d say the support continues for a long time. The real question isn't whether they'll help, but whether that help will actually be enough.

Anthony Hill5 said:Furthermore, one must consider that the Afghan people are by no means a homogenous group like the Ukrainians, nor do they possess the general level of education seen among Ukrainians. Is it not utterly preposterous, if not downright laughable, to attempt any meaningful comparison between Afghanistan and Ukraine?

You’re the one making that comparison, not me. So you're the one being unserious here. I was just commenting on those guys over at the local diner. It's all the same crowd.

William Cooper11 said:If Russia didn't have all those old Soviet stockpiles of weapons and ammo, they would've been stripped bare in Ukraine within a month—just like how they got picked clean in the north back in March.
That’s the whole truth about the Russian military today, in a nutshell.

Look, if things were different—if North Vietnam hadn't had support from the USSR and China—the American flag would be flying over Hanoi right now. But they did have that support. It’s the same deal here: Russia has decent weapon reserves, sure, but even those aren't infinite.

William Cooper11 said:Do you honestly think the Ukrainian military operates like the Union or the South Vietnamese army?
Or do those Russian fridge thieves strike you as being as fanatical as the Taliban or the Viet Cong?

I wasn't talking about the Ukrainian or South Vietnamese militaries. I was talking about the ones sitting there acting like they own the place. 🍿

The Russians strike me as a far more serious force than these amateurs, though I wouldn't exactly dismiss the ARVN either—they were anything but an unserious outfit.

William Cooper11 said:As long as Americans, Brits, and Pole2 are standing shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine, they don't have to worry about anyone pulling the rug out from under them.

That’s the exact same thing Afghans said, and before them, the South Vietnamese. ☕

hollowdriver13 said:Sure, they don't *have* to reach an agreement and just walk away, but this setup basically pulls India and China into the sanctions game without either side being able to whine about a direct ban.

Here’s a super simple way to look at it: say you strike a deal with someone on Alibaba for a certain price and buy something, you still need a logistics company to actually deliver it, right? I mean, what's the point of your little agreement if nobody is willing to pick up the goods and ship them?

And then, if India and China really want that Russian oil, they'll put pressure on the White House to sell it at prices that make shipping it worthwhile. The whole idea is to set a price point that significantly guts the revenue the US is getting from its oil exports.

Of course, they could just use their own laws to say no, but then their exports start tanking toward zero, which means they lose out on revenue anyway. So, it's a bit of a lose-lose for them.

That all makes sense, but why wasn't this applied a year ago, two years ago, five years ago? It’s always been the same setup: someone produces, someone else ships. This is nothing more than a continuation of the sanctions, just wrapped up in some soft, Westernized packaging. 🤣

hollowdriver13 said:Actually, that's not really how it works. There isn't some official ban on buying or selling here; you can't just have Russ yelling about how the West is blocking trade. It used to be that Russ would say, "My oil, my gas, my toys," and now the West is basically saying, "Sure, you can play, but you have to follow the rules." We control the oceans and the cargo insurance, which pretty much makes us the house in this casino. If you want to play the game, those are the terms.

So, honestly, the ball is in China and India's court now. If they really want to keep grabbing Russian oil, they're going to have to be the ones putting the squeeze on the White House to drop the prices down to a level that actually makes sense for shipping it all the way to them.

At the end of the day, a sale is just an agreement between a buyer and a seller. That’s it. The buyer won't pay more than $X, the seller won't go below $X+30, and everyone goes their separate ways.

hollowdriver13 said:Honestly, the way these sanctions were drafted this time around is actually pretty brilliant. They’ve basically left the door open to keep trading Russian oil, and sure, even the Kremlin can try to set whatever price they want—but there's a massive catch. Shipping companies and the ports handling the transfers can only secure those loads if the price stays within that specific ceiling set by the G7. It's a clever little workaround that keeps things moving while still hitting them where it counts.
Look, when you consider that the West holds an absolute monopoly—we're talking like 97% of the entire market for shipping and port cargo insurance—nobody is going to be able to move that oil if the price hits that ceiling. It basically means that if Russia decides they aren't playing ball, they’ve effectively managed to shut down their entire oil export stream, even to countries that were previously buying from them, like India.

It isn't just garbage; it's a total disaster.🤣

Terry Hernandez10 said:The world's major powers are slapping price caps on Russian oil—to which the White House responded: fine, then there won't be any oil.

And what else are they supposed to say to such an insult? 🤣 They actually think they can just dictate the market price of oil to someone else 🤦

Canada is a NATO member; there’s no such thing as a real friendship with Russia 😁

At what price are the Chinese paying for gas?

Larry Fox5 said:Let’s be real here—so far, these sanctions aren't doing a damn thing. We're talking six months in already...
The whole grand plan was that the sanctions would trigger a revolt from the American elite—you know, those oligarchs with their frozen bank accounts everywhere—and then eventually the public would follow suit.
The idea was that a critical mass would finally form and actually kick Putin out of power. But instead? His grip just tightened through pure terror, and that whole theory has completely fallen apart.

At this rate, this miserable status quo and this endless, drawn-out war will probably drag on until he dies—because there is zero chance he’s ever just stepping down on his own...

Sanctions are having a negligible impact because Russia has been prepping for this exact scenario since 2014. These sanctions were slapped on haphazardly, an ad hoc mess implemented week by week without any real strategic analysis. Honestly, the only thing stupider than these sanctions was the Russian assumption that they’d march into Ukraine to flower receptions.

That notion of a "critical mass" rising up to overthrow Putin is pure Western delusion; it has nothing to do with the reality on the ground in Russia. They are under total, Stalinist-style propaganda control. Nobody is going to take him down.

Now we're stuck in a stalemate. Everyone is dependent on everyone else, trapped in a war where nobody can actually win. Americans and the Chinese are just sitting back, profiting while you people deal with the fallout...

Nancy Gomez26 said:It appears the only way to truly discourage Russian aggression is to force a complete withdrawal from Ukraine right now. To prevent future incursions, they would need to be heavily armed and integrated into a serious military alliance.

Right now, Ukraine doesn't have the muscle to force them out. Give it two or three years, after a few more "referendums," and those areas will just be part of the Russian Federation. At that point, we might be looking at 🍿

Nicole Morris said:The realization hit much faster than anyone anticipated. They aren't idiots—they know perfectly well that a massive chunk of their industrial base relies on that gas. How many companies would flip from being hyper-profitable to completely insolvent if prices spiked eightfold? And what happens then? Unemployed people don't spend money—consumption craters, which leads to more layoffs. It’s a domino effect. Who exactly is going to fund the pensions for elderly Germans when the economy collapses?

The only real question left is what kind of terms Putin will demand before he decides to turn the taps back on.

They lit the match themselves and now they're choking on the smoke. The only issue is whether we get dragged down into the fire with them—damned if we do, damned if we don't. This whole sequence was predictable, honestly. It's just a shock to those armchair CIA warriors on the internet.