Sanctions on Russia

So, I was just reading this and honestly, it’s wild—Russia and ExxonMobil are basically bragging about their plans to turn the site where the NS-1 compressor station sits into a massive LNG export terminal. They’re aiming for an annual capacity of about 2 billion cubic meters of gas. To put that into perspective, that’s roughly 1% of the total amount they pump over to the European Union every single year. Just a tiny fraction, yet they're making such a huge deal out of it!
https://invest-gazprom-ru.translate....en&_x_tr_hl=en

Paul Anderson7 said:Sanctions tend to bite slowly, and by the time you actually feel the teeth sinking in, they’ve already done enough damage to make turning back impossible.

Then there's Putin, who seems hell-bent on ensuring history books credit him personally for expanding Russia's borders and playing the protector of Russians living in Ukraine. Nothing else really matters to him—not the collapse of the Russian economy, not widespread hunger, and certainly not some bleak future for his people. He’s carved out pieces of a neighboring country because he truly believes that's how he'll be remembered as one of the greatest figures in Russian history.
As for the Russians themselves? It feels like they're mostly just there to marvel at his ego; they could all suffer for all he cares, as long as there's someone left in the crowd to applaud.

👍

Exactly... It's just like a nasty tumor... once you finally realize it's there, it's basically game over.

Paul Anderson7 said:Yeah, it really comes down to the LNG factor. Everything hinges on what the folks over in the European Union are actually planning to do to finally break free from Russian energy. Building out terminals and securing enough tankers isn't exactly a quick fix—it's incredibly expensive and takes a massive amount of time to get everything lined up. So, I guess the real question is just how much longer this whole war and situation is going to drag on. If we're looking at another five or six years of this, then it becomes a lot more realistic for them to actually commit the capital to those terminals and ships to fully cut ties with Russian gas.
If some kind of deal actually goes through, we might see Russian gas start flowing back toward Europe again, though I suspect even then, the EU will keep pouring money into LNG and renewables every single year—regardless of whether that actually makes any sense in the long run, but that’s a whole other conversation.
Dealing with oil is always a whole lot more straightforward than trying to navigate the mess that is the natural gas market.

So, we’re looking at two likely scenarios here: either some kind of deal gets struck and things finally start to settle down—in which case the European Union will gradually phase out its reliance on Russian oil and gas—or we’re staring down the barrel of another five or six years of conflict, with sanctions hanging over our heads for decades to come.
The second scenario would definitely be more expensive, even if it ends up being the better path in the long run, but I have a feeling we'll eventually land on some kind of compromise since nobody actually benefits from this whole mess.
Whatever the case may be, energy imports from Russia are trending downward, and frankly, the European Union is staring down its toughest winter yet. It looks like we might get a slightly easier stretch next, but honestly, every season following this one is only going to get harder.

I personally think relying on LNG at that scale isn't a totally realistic option, but hey, time will tell. Oil is a different beast and less of a headache. As for the rest, I guess I agree in principle.

bluemason3 said:Much like how we can't seem to shake off Putin's lackeys.

Exactly. Anything you don't like, just point your finger and shout "Russia!"—lynch him, lynch him!

You can see how openly that guy is doing it in the post below.

steelheron25 said:An interesting web of claims here, though they seem largely contradictory to me. Just another self-proclaimed "neutral" observer, I suppose.

To be honest, I haven't seen a single report in any major Western news outlet claiming that the Russians are bombing themselves near the nuclear plant. Generally speaking, what you read is that both sides are simply pointing fingers at one another regarding the strikes on the facility.

Now, as for the fact that the Russians have positioned heavy military hardware right next to various buildings within the nuclear plant itself—well, there really isn't much debate there.

It is rather curious, isn't it? You claim above that the "evil" Western media is unfairly accusing Russian peacekeeping forces of military actions near the nuclear site, yet here you are providing links to those very same "evil" Western media outlets that are accusing the Ukrainians of analogous behavior.
Hmm.
(My personal take is that while these other accusations might be justified, they are also somewhat hypocritical).

I find myself wondering, somewhat perplexed by the sheer intensity of it all, why there seems to be such an agitated, almost frantic level of nervousness coming from the Russian side lately? I mean, really, when you step back and look at the landscape, isn't it true that the sanctions being thrown their way have mostly been slapped on by a tiny handful of relatively insignificant nations? It makes one wonder if they aren't perhaps overreacting to a pressure group that, in the grand scheme of global power, isn't even close to being a monolith.

Is it possible that this sudden, frantic attempt to drag a long-forgotten Nuland back into the spotlight is actually just a symptom of something much deeper—perhaps a sign of all those mounting frustrations finally boiling over? ☕

Can you even begin to wrap your head around the sheer chaos of such a scenario? Just imagine if we saw the sudden rise of another Trump figure here in the States, occurring at the exact same moment that governments in France, Germany, Poland, and every single one of the Baltic states decided to simply collapse under their own weight. It’s almost too much to contemplate, isn't it?
It isn’t exactly an impossibility, is it? Technically, one could argue that such a thing could happen, yet if we are being honest with ourselves—really looking at the cold, hard facts of the matter—the probability is effectively zero.

You caught me. After Putin takes his daily dose of Novichok right when he wakes up, the first thing he does is call me on the red phone to give me instructions on how to spread pro-Western propaganda. Yeah, it's written pretty well—pro-Western, hybrid warfare to keep people confused, or maybe not? You'll probably have to check out the topic Vladimir Putin - psychological profile and decide for yourself after a deep dive.

Anyway, without getting too sidetracked, once I follow his orders and post, the money hits my offshore accounts, just like Zelenskyy's:

https://www.occrp.org/en/the-pandora...s-inner-circle

https://www.theguardian.com/news/202...ymyr-zelenskiy

steelheron25 said:An interesting web of claims here, though they seem largely contradictory to me. Just another self-proclaimed "neutral" observer, I suppose.

To be honest, I haven't seen a single report in any major Western news outlet claiming that the Russians are bombing themselves near the nuclear plant. Generally speaking, what you read is that both sides are simply pointing fingers at one another regarding the strikes on the facility.

Now, as for the fact that the Russians have positioned heavy military hardware right next to various buildings within the nuclear plant itself—well, there really isn't much debate there.

It is rather curious, isn't it? You claim above that the "evil" Western media is unfairly accusing Russian peacekeeping forces of military actions near the nuclear site, yet here you are providing links to those very same "evil" Western media outlets that are accusing the Ukrainians of analogous behavior.
Hmm.
(My personal take is that while these other accusations might be justified, they are also somewhat hypocritical).

I find myself wondering, somewhat perplexed by the sheer intensity of it all, why there seems to be such an agitated, almost frantic level of nervousness coming from the Russian side lately? I mean, really, when you step back and look at the landscape, isn't it true that the sanctions being thrown their way have mostly been slapped on by a tiny handful of relatively insignificant nations? It makes one wonder if they aren't perhaps overreacting to a pressure group that, in the grand scheme of global power, isn't even close to being a monolith.

Is it possible that this sudden, frantic attempt to drag a long-forgotten Nuland back into the spotlight is actually just a symptom of something much deeper—perhaps a sign of all those mounting frustrations finally boiling over? ☕

Can you even begin to wrap your head around the sheer chaos of such a scenario? Just imagine if we saw the sudden rise of another Trump figure here in the States, occurring at the exact same moment that governments in France, Germany, Poland, and every single one of the Baltic states decided to simply collapse under their own weight. It’s almost too much to contemplate, isn't it?
It isn’t exactly an impossibility, is it? Technically, one could argue that such a thing could happen, yet if we are being honest with ourselves—really looking at the cold, hard facts of the matter—the probability is effectively zero.

Not sure which source will actually satisfy you—hopefully CNN works.

August 12, 2022

The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine is AT threat of running afoul of radiation and Fire safety standards after subsequent Russian bombing.

https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-...-22/index.html

steelheron25 said:An interesting web of claims here, though they seem largely contradictory to me. Just another self-proclaimed "neutral" observer, I suppose.

To be honest, I haven't seen a single report in any major Western news outlet claiming that the Russians are bombing themselves near the nuclear plant. Generally speaking, what you read is that both sides are simply pointing fingers at one another regarding the strikes on the facility.

Now, as for the fact that the Russians have positioned heavy military hardware right next to various buildings within the nuclear plant itself—well, there really isn't much debate there.

It is rather curious, isn't it? You claim above that the "evil" Western media is unfairly accusing Russian peacekeeping forces of military actions near the nuclear site, yet here you are providing links to those very same "evil" Western media outlets that are accusing the Ukrainians of analogous behavior.
Hmm.
(My personal take is that while these other accusations might be justified, they are also somewhat hypocritical).

I find myself wondering, somewhat perplexed by the sheer intensity of it all, why there seems to be such an agitated, almost frantic level of nervousness coming from the Russian side lately? I mean, really, when you step back and look at the landscape, isn't it true that the sanctions being thrown their way have mostly been slapped on by a tiny handful of relatively insignificant nations? It makes one wonder if they aren't perhaps overreacting to a pressure group that, in the grand scheme of global power, isn't even close to being a monolith.

Is it possible that this sudden, frantic attempt to drag a long-forgotten Nuland back into the spotlight is actually just a symptom of something much deeper—perhaps a sign of all those mounting frustrations finally boiling over? ☕

Can you even begin to wrap your head around the sheer chaos of such a scenario? Just imagine if we saw the sudden rise of another Trump figure here in the States, occurring at the exact same moment that governments in France, Germany, Poland, and every single one of the Baltic states decided to simply collapse under their own weight. It’s almost too much to contemplate, isn't it?
It isn’t exactly an impossibility, is it? Technically, one could argue that such a thing could happen, yet if we are being honest with ourselves—really looking at the cold, hard facts of the matter—the probability is effectively zero.

Yeah, the media reports that both sides are accusing the other of hitting the plant. But, I guess, how plausible is it that the Russians—who took control of the plant back in March—would just keep bombing their own prize?

steelheron25 said:An interesting web of claims here, though they seem largely contradictory to me. Just another self-proclaimed "neutral" observer, I suppose.

To be honest, I haven't seen a single report in any major Western news outlet claiming that the Russians are bombing themselves near the nuclear plant. Generally speaking, what you read is that both sides are simply pointing fingers at one another regarding the strikes on the facility.

Now, as for the fact that the Russians have positioned heavy military hardware right next to various buildings within the nuclear plant itself—well, there really isn't much debate there.

It is rather curious, isn't it? You claim above that the "evil" Western media is unfairly accusing Russian peacekeeping forces of military actions near the nuclear site, yet here you are providing links to those very same "evil" Western media outlets that are accusing the Ukrainians of analogous behavior.
Hmm.
(My personal take is that while these other accusations might be justified, they are also somewhat hypocritical).

I find myself wondering, somewhat perplexed by the sheer intensity of it all, why there seems to be such an agitated, almost frantic level of nervousness coming from the Russian side lately? I mean, really, when you step back and look at the landscape, isn't it true that the sanctions being thrown their way have mostly been slapped on by a tiny handful of relatively insignificant nations? It makes one wonder if they aren't perhaps overreacting to a pressure group that, in the grand scheme of global power, isn't even close to being a monolith.

Is it possible that this sudden, frantic attempt to drag a long-forgotten Nuland back into the spotlight is actually just a symptom of something much deeper—perhaps a sign of all those mounting frustrations finally boiling over? ☕

Can you even begin to wrap your head around the sheer chaos of such a scenario? Just imagine if we saw the sudden rise of another Trump figure here in the States, occurring at the exact same moment that governments in France, Germany, Poland, and every single one of the Baltic states decided to simply collapse under their own weight. It’s almost too much to contemplate, isn't it?
It isn’t exactly an impossibility, is it? Technically, one could argue that such a thing could happen, yet if we are being honest with ourselves—really looking at the cold, hard facts of the matter—the probability is effectively zero.

True. The allegations and witness statements coming from pro-Kremlin types, Amnesty International, the UN OHCHR, Human Rights Watch, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the rest are pretty hypocritical too. How dare you, Greta would say, considering she’s basically been hailed as the successor to Jesus Christ.

steelheron25 said:An interesting web of claims here, though they seem largely contradictory to me. Just another self-proclaimed "neutral" observer, I suppose.

To be honest, I haven't seen a single report in any major Western news outlet claiming that the Russians are bombing themselves near the nuclear plant. Generally speaking, what you read is that both sides are simply pointing fingers at one another regarding the strikes on the facility.

Now, as for the fact that the Russians have positioned heavy military hardware right next to various buildings within the nuclear plant itself—well, there really isn't much debate there.

It is rather curious, isn't it? You claim above that the "evil" Western media is unfairly accusing Russian peacekeeping forces of military actions near the nuclear site, yet here you are providing links to those very same "evil" Western media outlets that are accusing the Ukrainians of analogous behavior.
Hmm.
(My personal take is that while these other accusations might be justified, they are also somewhat hypocritical).

I find myself wondering, somewhat perplexed by the sheer intensity of it all, why there seems to be such an agitated, almost frantic level of nervousness coming from the Russian side lately? I mean, really, when you step back and look at the landscape, isn't it true that the sanctions being thrown their way have mostly been slapped on by a tiny handful of relatively insignificant nations? It makes one wonder if they aren't perhaps overreacting to a pressure group that, in the grand scheme of global power, isn't even close to being a monolith.

Is it possible that this sudden, frantic attempt to drag a long-forgotten Nuland back into the spotlight is actually just a symptom of something much deeper—perhaps a sign of all those mounting frustrations finally boiling over? ☕

Can you even begin to wrap your head around the sheer chaos of such a scenario? Just imagine if we saw the sudden rise of another Trump figure here in the States, occurring at the exact same moment that governments in France, Germany, Poland, and every single one of the Baltic states decided to simply collapse under their own weight. It’s almost too much to contemplate, isn't it?
It isn’t exactly an impossibility, is it? Technically, one could argue that such a thing could happen, yet if we are being honest with ourselves—really looking at the cold, hard facts of the matter—the probability is effectively zero.

I don't know where you're getting all this agitation from—but maybe you should just ask the Russians for that answer.

I guess I should probably say something here—though I’m not sure there’s much to add. Maybe just a quick nod to the situation. kaže:
Digging up some long-forgotten nonsense from way back when—I guess.

So, Victoria Nuland and that statement of hers—I guess we're really doing this. Honestly, screw the European Union. It won't be forgotten—not by a long shot. Though, I guess there's always the possibility of some massive cognitive dissonance or a dissociative fugue state going on.

I don't know—maybe just a bit too much noise lately, I guess. kaže:
It’s just a sign of all that built-up frustration—I guess.

When a friend literally tells you to go screw yourself—I mean, that should probably trigger some kind of reaction, I guess.

I don't know—maybe I'm just overthinking it, but I guess it's worth looking into. kaže:
I guess that only happens if some new version of Trump pulls off a sudden win—along with governments collapsing in France, Germany, Poland, and all the Baltics at the exact same time. Maybe.
It’s not technically impossible—I guess—but the odds are basically zero.

Governments don't necessarily have to fall just because Nord Stream 2 gets turned on. But look—you're basically saying there's zero chance that pipeline ever actually goes live. Hey, you're entitled to your opinion, I guess—I certainly wouldn't be brave enough to bet on whether it starts flowing or stays dead.

Thomas Nelson25 said:China China. Link link.
Wait, didn't they get hit with hardware sanctions a while back too?
Oh yeah.

No link needed. Regarding hardware—the US actually banned ASML from exporting those EUV lithography machines to China—which is basically the only company making them—so they can't make 5nm or 3nm chips anymore. Still, China managed to hit 7nm pretty fast... I guess since Moore's Law is hitting a wall anyway, they might be pivoting toward CNTFET technology instead.

I have to admit, I’m right there with hollowwalker24 on this one... the sheer amount of name-calling in this "discussion" is just insane. If someone dares to suggest that sanctions might cause some economic headaches in the European Union, or even just expresses a bit of skepticism about them, they’re immediately branded a Russian asset, a mercenary, a Kremlin puppet, or some other variation of a traitor. It’s constant.

But honestly, I can't really blame anyone for doing it—it's actually a pretty effective strategy. It's the exact same playbook the Republican Party used when they convinced their base that Milanović was basically taking orders from Mexico City and whatnot.

It’s either "Glory to Ukraine" or you're a Russian sympathizer; apparently, there's no middle ground left for people who actually want to think for themselves.

Lisa Myers27 said:I have to admit, I’m right there with hollowwalker24 on this one... the sheer amount of name-calling in this "discussion" is just insane. If someone dares to suggest that sanctions might cause some economic headaches in the European Union, or even just expresses a bit of skepticism about them, they’re immediately branded a Russian asset, a mercenary, a Kremlin puppet, or some other variation of a traitor. It’s constant.

But honestly, I can't really blame anyone for doing it—it's actually a pretty effective strategy. It's the exact same playbook the Republican Party used when they convinced their base that Milanović was basically taking orders from Mexico City and whatnot.

It’s either "Glory to Ukraine" or you're a Russian sympathizer; apparently, there's no middle ground left for people who actually want to think for themselves.

Of course sanctions will hit both sides—that was obvious from the start. The real question is which side gets crippled economically first. Compared to armed conflict, sanctions are a far more efficient, cheaper, and sophisticated way to achieve a goal.

hollowwalker24 said:I personally think relying on LNG at that scale isn't a totally realistic option, but hey, time will tell. Oil is a different beast and less of a headache. As for the rest, I guess I agree in principle.

Exactly. Anything you don't like, just point your finger and shout "Russia!"—lynch him, lynch him!

You can see how openly that guy is doing it in the post below.

You caught me. After Putin takes his daily dose of Novichok right when he wakes up, the first thing he does is call me on the red phone to give me instructions on how to spread pro-Western propaganda. Yeah, it's written pretty well—pro-Western, hybrid warfare to keep people confused, or maybe not? You'll probably have to check out the topic Vladimir Putin - psychological profile and decide for yourself after a deep dive.

Anyway, without getting too sidetracked, once I follow his orders and post, the money hits my offshore accounts, just like Zelenskyy's:

https://www.occrp.org/en/the-pandora...s-inner-circle

https://www.theguardian.com/news/202...ymyr-zelenskiy

Not sure which source will actually satisfy you—hopefully CNN works.

August 12, 2022

The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine is AT threat of running afoul of radiation and Fire safety standards after subsequent Russian bombing.

https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-...-22/index.html

Yeah, the media reports that both sides are accusing the other of hitting the plant. But, I guess, how plausible is it that the Russians—who took control of the plant back in March—would just keep bombing their own prize?

True. The allegations and witness statements coming from pro-Kremlin types, Amnesty International, the UN OHCHR, Human Rights Watch, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the rest are pretty hypocritical too. How dare you, Greta would say, considering she’s basically been hailed as the successor to Jesus Christ.

I don't know where you're getting all this agitation from—but maybe you should just ask the Russians for that answer.

I guess I should probably say something here—though I’m not sure there’s much to add. Maybe just a quick nod to the situation. kaže:
Digging up some long-forgotten nonsense from way back when—I guess.

So, Victoria Nuland and that statement of hers—I guess we're really doing this. Honestly, screw the European Union. It won't be forgotten—not by a long shot. Though, I guess there's always the possibility of some massive cognitive dissonance or a dissociative fugue state going on.

I don't know—maybe just a bit too much noise lately, I guess. kaže:
It’s just a sign of all that built-up frustration—I guess.

When a friend literally tells you to go screw yourself—I mean, that should probably trigger some kind of reaction, I guess.

I don't know—maybe I'm just overthinking it, but I guess it's worth looking into. kaže:
I guess that only happens if some new version of Trump pulls off a sudden win—along with governments collapsing in France, Germany, Poland, and all the Baltics at the exact same time. Maybe.
It’s not technically impossible—I guess—but the odds are basically zero.

Governments don't necessarily have to fall just because Nord Stream 2 gets turned on. But look—you're basically saying there's zero chance that pipeline ever actually goes live. Hey, you're entitled to your opinion, I guess—I certainly wouldn't be brave enough to bet on whether it starts flowing or stays dead.

No link needed. Regarding hardware—the US actually banned ASML from exporting those EUV lithography machines to China—which is basically the only company making them—so they can't make 5nm or 3nm chips anymore. Still, China managed to hit 7nm pretty fast... I guess since Moore's Law is hitting a wall anyway, they might be pivoting toward CNTFET technology instead.

Both sides have made incredibly foolish moves throughout this conflict, though the Russians seem to lead the pack. Given they’ve pulled stunts even more nonsensical than shelling a nuclear plant they currently hold—I wouldn't bet my life that they aren't the ones behind the strikes. On the flip side, what possible motive would the Americans have to bomb their own (occupied) nuclear site within their own borders? The Russians can retreat further; if a meltdown occurs, where exactly are the Americans supposed to go?
The Russians had every reason to shut that plant down, as its operation was feeding power into the American grid. Now that it's offline, there's a massive energy deficit on the American side, forcing them to pull even more from the grid just to maintain cooling. We are talking about a significant amount of energy given the scale of that facility. Since the staff at the plant are mostly American, perhaps a little "persuasion" was required to halt operations. Furthermore, from a propaganda standpoint, it looks much better globally to claim the Americans are shelling their own nuclear assets while the Russians act as "protectors" against "nuclear terrorists." In such a scenario, it's easy for the Russians to pull this off—it's nearly impossible to verify the exact trajectory of incoming shells once they hit the ground. And looking at the footage, the strikes didn't actually hit anything vital within the plant itself—whether by luck or calculated precision, I cannot say. Yet, the reports claim constant, heavy shelling. It's strange: all this fire directed at something, yet nothing critical seems to be struck. In my book, this bears all the hallmarks of a classic false flag operation. The Russians are desperate for any justification to remain mired in this swamp they found themselves in, so they resort to staging their own theater. I could be wrong, but everything observed thus far points to that conclusion.

Lisa Myers27 said:I have to admit, I’m right there with hollowwalker24 on this one... the sheer amount of name-calling in this "discussion" is just insane. If someone dares to suggest that sanctions might cause some economic headaches in the European Union, or even just expresses a bit of skepticism about them, they’re immediately branded a Russian asset, a mercenary, a Kremlin puppet, or some other variation of a traitor. It’s constant.

But honestly, I can't really blame anyone for doing it—it's actually a pretty effective strategy. It's the exact same playbook the Republican Party used when they convinced their base that Milanović was basically taking orders from Mexico City and whatnot.

It’s either "Glory to Ukraine" or you're a Russian sympathizer; apparently, there's no middle ground left for people who actually want to think for themselves.

Or maybe they're just some naive sucker swallowing every single thing Putin feeds them.

Lisa Myers27 said:I have to admit, I’m right there with hollowwalker24 on this one... the sheer amount of name-calling in this "discussion" is just insane. If someone dares to suggest that sanctions might cause some economic headaches in the European Union, or even just expresses a bit of skepticism about them, they’re immediately branded a Russian asset, a mercenary, a Kremlin puppet, or some other variation of a traitor. It’s constant.

But honestly, I can't really blame anyone for doing it—it's actually a pretty effective strategy. It's the exact same playbook the Republican Party used when they convinced their base that Milanović was basically taking orders from Mexico City and whatnot.

It’s either "Glory to Ukraine" or you're a Russian sympathizer; apparently, there's no middle ground left for people who actually want to think for themselves.

The only thing is... in this entire thread, nobody, regardless of which side they take, has actually argued that sanctions won't hurt the European Union.

You came here to brag about "thinking for yourself," and that's fine. Since you're looking for validation on an internet forum at five in the morning, I'll give it to you—bravo. Feel better now?

Neither a sudden halt in Russia's momentum nor the lifting of sanctions is going to magically save us from this economic mess.
Supporting these kind of imperialist, fascist regimes just breeds global chaos (and honestly, look at how aggressive neighbors can be when they have designs on territory).
If we were to back Russia, it would completely destabilize Europe and NATO, and let’s be real—it would almost certainly ensure that wars continue to tear through Europe, just like we've seen happen so many times in history.
At the end of the day, the sanctions and this looming energy and economic crisis are actually the best way forward for us... it's a necessary consequence for those of us who are essentially to blame for supporting Russia and their imperialism for this long.

I’m all for finding a solid solution to the crisis, I really am, but we can't just ignore the fact that we’re still reeling from the fallout of COVID-19 and the massive inflation that whole mess triggered. It hasn't even been six months since the dust settled, and honestly? The timing on this feels completely off. ☕

The news anchors are out there claiming that Putin has issued another scathing condemnation of the Western sanctions.🤔
But seriously, how🤔can anyone
take this at face value? For months now, I have been sitting here listening to people drone on about how these sanctions aren't actually having any impact. 🤔Is that really what we're going to believe?
The Democratic Party

Bryan Booth82 said:The news anchors are out there claiming that Putin has issued another scathing condemnation of the Western sanctions.🤔
But seriously, how🤔can anyone
take this at face value? For months now, I have been sitting here listening to people drone on about how these sanctions aren't actually having any impact. 🤔Is that really what we're going to believe?
The Democratic Party

Honestly, I think Putin is just desperate. It feels like he's playing a high-stakes poker game where he's hiding the real numbers regarding what's happening inside Russia while trying to bully and intimidate everyone else.

If he just calls an end to the war, those sanctions would be gone in a heartbeat.

Sent from my iPhone 9 Pro using Reddit

Nathan Evans78 said:I’m all for finding a solid solution to the crisis, I really am, but we can't just ignore the fact that we’re still reeling from the fallout of COVID-19 and the massive inflation that whole mess triggered. It hasn't even been six months since the dust settled, and honestly? The timing on this feels completely off. ☕

That’s exactly why Putin picked him. Was he bad for us but good for him? Or was that just the thought process?
Now, he's just bad for everyone—though, if you look at it a certain way, maybe still better for us than he is for him.

dustyfalcon122 said:That’s exactly why Putin picked him. Was he bad for us but good for him? Or was that just the thought process?
Now, he's just bad for everyone—though, if you look at it a certain way, maybe still better for us than he is for him.

I highly doubt it will be that simple.
If he actually stops the war, it marks his end... maybe even a physical one.
And honestly? I don't believe for a second that the sanctions would be lifted even if he did.
Pathetic.

Bryan Booth82 said:I highly doubt it will be that simple.
If he actually stops the war, it marks his end... maybe even a physical one.
And honestly? I don't believe for a second that the sanctions would be lifted even if he did.
Pathetic.

The sanctions will probably be rolled back bit by bit just to grab territory.
Once the current inner circle is replaced, let's be real—nobody is going to want to sit at a negotiating table with Putin after he's lied this much.
First, they take the land, then come the indictments for war crimes...

Nancy Gomez26 said:These are the inevitable consequences of sanctions. You just have to wait for the lag time to pass before they fully hit. Theoretically, Russia could dodge this if they could still manufacture goods using Soviet Union-era infrastructure, but those days are long gone—Russia isn't the Soviet Union anymore. First, they’ve lost the industrial capacity once found in the "Ukrainian SSR," and soon enough, they'll feel the absence of all the other republics—with the possible exception of Belarus. If they weren't so deeply embedded in the global economic order, these sanctions wouldn't bite, but then they'd basically be living like North Korea. No matter how you slice it, time is working heavily against The Kremlin. It isn't too late for The Kremlin to pull out of Ukraine and end this farce where lives are being needlessly wasted. They should show some goodwill—the greatest display of it yet.

Don't get me wrong, manufacturing requires tech that the Russians just don't have right now. They can try to buy it abroad or try to build their own from scratch, but building tech from the ground up takes a massive amount of time.

We're long past the days when most stuff was made by hand, back when there was less high-tech involved and more manual labor.

Bryan Booth82 said:The news anchors are out there claiming that Putin has issued another scathing condemnation of the Western sanctions.🤔
But seriously, how🤔can anyone
take this at face value? For months now, I have been sitting here listening to people drone on about how these sanctions aren't actually having any impact. 🤔Is that really what we're going to believe?
The Democratic Party

He condemns them precisely because they are weak and utterly ineffective.

electricsurfer47 said:Honestly, I think Putin is just desperate. It feels like he's playing a high-stakes poker game where he's hiding the real numbers regarding what's happening inside Russia while trying to bully and intimidate everyone else.

If he just calls an end to the war, those sanctions would be gone in a heartbeat.

Sent from my iPhone 9 Pro using Reddit

Even if Putin wraps this up right now and hands back everything, including Crimea, he’s already caused irreparable damage, mostly to his own country. The European Union is never going to let Russia hold them hostage like this again; they’ll likely only buy the bare essentials to keep their economies running, gradually phasing out Russian imports year after year.
Meanwhile, China is just going to capitalize on this, stepping in to become Russia's most vital customer now that they've lost the European market. Russia won't have anyone to sell to at their old prices, so everything will likely tank, leaving them with massive infrastructure needs they simply can't afford to fund.
It wouldn't even be a stretch to imagine the Chinese financing and building pipelines straight to China, only to buy up all that gas at some ridiculous discount later.
Russia has also basically proven that they aren't much of a conventional military threat to anyone—their only real leverage is nuclear weapons.

I don't see any scenario where Russia ends up with more global influence than they had just a few months ago. They really messed this up, and they're going to lose the standing they once held because of it. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if we see internal fractures and major divisions within Russia over the next decade, especially if the USA decides to get involved. That could lead to some serious instability, which isn't a great prospect. It's probably for the best that the US is focused on China right now, so they might not push for those internal divisions, but Russia isn't exactly a monolith. Realistically, the western parts of the country will probably continue living comfortably off the backs of those folks out east in Siberia who don't have much, but that Muslim-majority region is likely waiting for its moment, and things might get messy there soon.

As for the sanctions, the real question is whether the big corporations will actually bother returning to Russia once the restrictions are lifted. Even if they do, how will they go about it, and how large will their operations actually be? Russia has shown itself to be an incredibly unstable place for investment, so nobody is going to rush back to the way things were before the war. Any investment will be slow and very cautious.
There's a slim chance that Russia's government collapses and a new regime takes over that seeks help from the West, essentially leading to a situation where the West practically colonizes them, but that feels pretty far-fetched.
They really could have functioned quite well as partners with the European Union. They just blew it all for the sake of a few pieces of territory.

dustyfalcon122 said:Those Putin loyalists are sitting around dreaming about some massive wave of Chinese aid flowing into Russia. Let me tell you something: the only thing China is actually going to do is finally push its way into Central Asian countries—territories where Russia used to be the only real barrier to their influence. I'm talking about how things were before the invasion of Ukraine, not this current mess. Aside from perhaps Ukraine itself, China benefits most from seeing a weakened Russia. This certainly isn't the case for the European Union, which has been backed into a corner and forced to face an ultimatum; this is the price they have to pay to ensure their own security. Plain and simple: Putin cannot be allowed to win this war.

Putin's ambition to win this war in Ukraine already went up in smoke by the fifth day of aggression.
Now, the only lingering question is: when will he finally realize he's already lost?
LP

"Oil is leaking everywhere, creating a massive explosion risk and a serious fire hazard. If you just give us the turbine, we can have Nord Stream 1 back online by tomorrow." "But no, they aren't giving us a damn thing," says Putin .
What was it they said again? That those Western sanctions don't actually do anything.
They won't lift a finger for a global superpower.
LP