Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday that the West has launched a “total war” against Russia by trying to destroy the country’s economy through sanctions.
“Today we have been declared a real hybrid war, a total war,” Lavrov said. “This term which was used by Hitler’s Germany, is now voiced by many European politicians when they talk about what they want to do with the Russian Federation.”
“The goals are not hidden, they declared publicly — to destroy, break, exterminate, strangle the Russian economy and Russia as a whole,” he added.
Russia’s economy has taken a big hit from the US-led sanctions campaign that started after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the assault on Ukraine. On Thursday, the White House released a fact sheet that boasted of the damage the sanctions have done to Russia’s economy.
“This economic collapse of Russia’s GDP will wipe out the past 15 years of economic gains in Russia, according to the Institute for International Finance. Inflation in Russia is already spiking, with analysts projecting it to rise up to 15 percent on a year-over-year basis, and the Russian Government has been downgraded to ‘junk’ status by major credit rating agencies,” the White House said.
The sanctions have done nothing to stop the fighting in Ukraine and are having an impact on the entire world, as President Biden warned on Thursday. “The price of these sanctions is not just imposed upon Russia, it’s imposed upon an awful lot of countries as well, including European countries and our country as well,” he said.
All the “little people” will pay the price while those that caused the war will weep crocodile tears.
Sanctions are an act of War. The U.S. has been sanctioning Russia for many years. The U.S. bears the responsibility for what is happening in Ukraine.
Well said Mary, well said.
Russia will retaliate accordingly until they will be left with no choice. Hope Germany is ready.
Forcing the EU including Germany to pay in Rubles is a pretty clever kick to the assorted nuts.
Russia should extend that to all commodity trade still extant with hostile countries.
How will that help? Nobody could compete with the greedy, vicious, violent cauldron of hate that the US “administration” has become.
Welcome to WW3
US inflation rate = 8% It is increasing at an increasing rate.
The real inflation rate is much higher than 8%.
You are probably correct. Especially when quality degradation and substitution is considered. I pointed to this because some USers are crowing about the great results of sanctions as they work to destroy Russia. Those voices of war claimed Russian inflation has reached 15%, implying Russia’s future economic defeat.
The way CPI is measured was changed in the 1980s. I don’t remember the specifics, but basically what would have been 10% inflation back then would only measure as 5% now. And that doesn’t include the big changes in the “basket of goods” we actually use versus the one still being used for CPI.
Then there’s the actual cause/definition of inflation, which is an increase in money supply related to GDP. That increase in 2020-2021 was massive, probably at least 30%.
Another direction for understanding inflation is entropy. The overly complicated just in time economy is constructed to hide from questions. This degrades the function of money as a measuring devise and that cycle becomes economically fatal.
“Money supply” is important, but also misleading. It includes velocity of existing credits we commonly call “money,” and also a great deal that is credits created in the banking system as debt on books without anything “printed.” There is also a lot of printed currency not circulating, frozen and out of the money supply but hanging there ready. Then there is the complex subject of foreign holdings of T-Bill, like China holding 10% of the US GDP in that form.
Far less misleading is price data. It can be tracked, with some issues but much more reliably than the vague “money supply.”
A problem with price data is that the government defines out the prices that have risen the most. It also fluctuates seasonally, but not with complete consistency, so “adjustments” are needed but can only be approximate, a significant variable.
A vital measure for the behavior of the economy is the behavior of American consumers, and of business inventory purchases. They act as if they think they are experiencing inflation. Those actions are the end point of inflation concerns anyway.
To the working man the so called economy and the GDP are just words the talking heads use to keep us off balance. The working man still gets up and works hard to feed his family no matter what the heads are saying. If times are tough or otherwise the working man will always find a way.
True. Unless that working man lives in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, etc
Believe it or Not!
I have multiple neighbors who cannot
READ.
Does your ideal ‘working man’ read?
How is his comprehensive score?
The headline today is that Biden demands regime change in Russia.
Russians always said the approach to their borders was part of a plan to do regime change on them, to return them to the chaos of Western looting that was Yeltsin’s disaster. Now Biden admits they were right all along.
Russia is the indispensable nation for every other independent nation’s security.
Russian support is essential diplomatically, economically, and militarily through arms sales, from China and India through the Middle East, Africa, and South Pacific.
Even American / Western conservatives need Russian platforms to promote their ideas in the left-right social civil war.
Of course the NATO-captured Neoconned West needs to launch a total hybrid war against Russia. However, world multipolar reality is here, and Western hegemony is over.
DC demonstrated it is willing and able to seize dollar denominated sovereign wealth funds throughout the world. This applies to China as much as to Russia, and to all those Gulf Arab monarchs who had counted on running away to be with their money when the jig was up.
It is pre-emptive default on T-Bills used to store national wealth. This ends safe use of the dollar as reserve currency. It is as of now no longer a safe place.
Other options will be found or made. This one is done.
The US in its arrogance knew not what it had done, until suddenly it shot itself. A trigger once pulled, the bullet can’t be called back.
Biden to America: “Do you want the total war?!?!”
American people: “No!”
*awkward silence*
Biden: “Then let the storm (of inflation) break loose!”
Biden is well on the way to winning the difficult competition to be the very worst POTUS in history.
I completely agree!
I have no wish to sound repetitive but wars can get started the way… This is a dangerous game…
Assassination of the Tsar is still an act of war, now we call Putin a Tsar and call for his Assassination.
The Ukraine was inciting war, our 1% frm retired military lobbyists campaigned there.
FLUBOT MADE RIGHT HERE 97048 by a Privatized Terrorist design by a Finnish immigrant who is so fascist scary, he freaks the mormons who hired him. Was a Apostolic Lutheran Pastor, used the church to obfuscate the local library Mapped IP. A decade ago. Has/had DHS SECURITY and contracts out from an office by city hall, Ground Zero.
My gear been hit by earlier versions custom built and billed a decade ago.
Finland not in NATO?
Woo-hoo!
Open Season!