During Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, President Biden boasted that Russia’s economy is now “reeling” after Western sanctions were implemented in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine.
The US and its allies have imposed a series of harsh sanctions that aim to isolate Russia from the global financial system and cut off some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system. “We are inflicting pain on Russia and supporting the people of Ukraine. Putin is now isolated from the world more than ever,” Biden said.
Since the sanctions were implemented, Russia’s stock market has taken a hit, and the Ruble has lost value against the dollar. “The Ruble has lost 30% of its value. The Russian stock market has lost 40% of its value and trading remains suspended. Russia’s economy is reeling and Putin alone is to blame,” Biden said.
Biden announced new measures against Russia, including a Justice Department task force that will try to seize “yachts, luxury apartments, and private jets” that belong to “Russian oligarchs.”
Biden also announced that he is closing American air space to Russian flights. “And tonight I am announcing that we will join our allies in closing off American air space to all Russian flights — further isolating Russia — and adding an additional squeeze on their economy,” he said.
The sanctions and economic pressure have been shrugged off by Russian officials as Moscow has been preparing to shield itself from sanctions since 2014. Russia is also expanding its trade relationship with China, and the two powers have recently inked massive oil deals.
There is no doubt that Russia’s economy will initially take a serious hit from these sanctions, but the impact is going to mostly fall on ordinary citizens, as US economic pressure typically does. And the sanctions were factored into Putin’s plans to move on Ukraine, so there’s little reason to believe the economic measures will stop his assault.
Biden went on to explain that the US and its allies are giving Ukraine new military aid. “Together with our allies we are providing support to the Ukrainians in their fight for freedom. Military assistance. Economic assistance. Humanitarian assistance,” he said.
For the first time, the US will be providing Ukraine with Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, marking an escalation in Washington’s arming of Kyiv. The US is also sending more troops and military hardware to NATO countries in Eastern Europe that border Russia and Ukraine.
But Biden reiterated that he doesn’t have plans to enter Ukraine and fight Russia directly. “Let me be clear, our forces are not engaged and will not engage in conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine,” he said.
A slight correction to my earlier posts on “Serbia redux.” It’s actually worse than what I said.
In the case of Serbia, NATO didn’t get a UN General Assembly Resolution. In fact, they ignored the UN all together! This means NATO can go to war under Article 4 as well as Article 5. Which is actually worse.
However, given that we’re talking about war with Russia, I suspect NATO wants a smidgen more “legitimacy” this time around. So the point stands: they will get their UNGA resolution, then intervene, either directly or by proxy.
My bad, I don’t know where I got the idea that NATO used a UNGA resolution as legitimacy over Serbia. I was probably thinking of Libya in 2011 when a UNSC Resolution was passed to establish a “no-fly zone” and then unilaterally extended by the US and NATO to become regime change of Gaddafi’s government.
I note once again that Biden says “no US troops to Ukraine” – but he doesn’t say “no NATO troops to Ukraine” and he doesn’t say “no proxy forces to Ukraine.”
He also doesn’t say that supplying Javelins to Ukraine isn’t going to alter the outcome of the war in the slightest.
true….and frightening
NATO acted on Yugoslavia with no legitimacy and they weren’t looking for one.
Biden’s policy is a feeling good short-sighted policy which is treating Russia as if it was a Venezuela and sanction it to death.
Sending javelins and stingers to Ukraine will prolong the conflict, push Russia to take more draconian measures and result in more casualties.
Sanctions are an act of war; economic warfare as someone put it. Its a matter of time before Russia calls it so. Freezing Russia’s assets is stealing.
The situation is a mirror of pre-WW I situation. Different actors, different means.
“prolong”
Isn’t that Ukrainians choice? They don’t have to fight back if they don’t want to.
so they should welcome the Russians as liberators? Hmmm, haven’t we heard this before?
The point is to end the conflict before a confrontation between Russia and US occurs. If nuclear weapons were not in the mix, sure, send them all the equipment and arm them to the teeth.
Their choice, correct. But what is at stake here is that the longer this conflict extends, the higher the chances of a major power confrontation; for what? To kill a few more Russians? Cost benefit analysis doens’t work out.
Putin has already lost this war. Finland is actively considering joining NATO. Sweden will soon follow. No matter the ultimate results on the ground in Ukraine, this will be protracted and painful. It’s clear the Russian soldiers don’t have their heart in it. The economic costs will be vast. Putin made a big mistake and he does not seem to have it in him to climb down from his tree. His days are numbered
Six days in? Perhaps withhold judgement a bit longer?
He has and will continue to turn towards the new growth center-the East.Meanwhile,Europe will be forced to buy his fossil fuels or go back to the middle ages.
US and Canada have enough energy resources to replace Russians. Saudis and Gulf countries will happily pick up the slack. Of course the dems would have to give up on their self destructive move to green energy
It takes a lot of time to switch imports to US, Canada, and ME. It’s also way more expensive.
It`s already been said replacing the energy Russia supplies to Europe is all but impossible to replace , plus do Europeans want to pay 4 time the price for freedon Gas ?.
New states joining NATO and Putin losing power are certainly among the potential outcomes.
But it’s too early to tell.
If the western operations are just distraction operations from his attempt to create a contiguous new border including LPR/DPR and a corridor from them to Crimea, and he gets that wrapped up quickly and goes home, he may survive politically and Finland and Sweden aren’t likely to join NATO (or support Germany’s continued re-militarization).
If he’s out of his tree and thinks he’s going to conquer/occupy/”regime change” Ukraine, he’s probably got at most a few weeks left before the oligarchs who made him un-make him — and Sweden and Finland probably still won’t join NATO.
Humanity’s days are numbered.
If Biden thinks Russia will blame Putin for American/NATO caprice, they are mistaken.
Putin’s war may have been a little out of touch, but relatable.
NATO, though, is acting as if that gives them full license to be completely unhinged.
what exactly is NATO doing that is unhinged?
Should one even attempt to answer such a weird question?
The sanctions war against Russia has become an all-out attempt to cancel Russia and Russians from international participation in… everything.
Rich Russians in the West face property seizures and bank account freezes. Several Russian banks have been cut from SWIFT banking. Russian companies on Western stock exchanges can no longer be traded. Russian fights are banned from Western airspaces.
Russian products are taken off store shelves. A swath of sporting federations have cancelled Russian representation and events in Russia. The Russian Abramovich is being forced to give up ownership of Chelsea football club. Even Russian cat breeders got cancelled.
Its just become a wild anti-Russian pogrom with no end in sight led by NATO nations.
Biden and its “non-starter” reply to Russian’s demands is following the same policy as the US has applied to small countries like Venezuela, Iraq, Iran etc.
Are these politicians so blind that they don’t realize that Russia has the N word and you just cant whip Russia at will?
They want to make Russia suffer they say. They want to make Russia a pariah they croak. Really? Have they thought it thru? A suffering pariah with nuclear weapons?
God help us with these incompetents in power. We need statemen from yesteryear who realize what are our interests really are and not amateurs who believe the freedom and democracy BS they peddle every day.
Well said!!!
What is the alternative – to let Russia be a country that can invade whoever it wants without anyone else doing anything? How many countries rush to get nukes in that scenario? JFC the obstinate truculence here is ridiculous.
Ah, for old fashioned realism. JFC indeed! Russia is at least militarily a great power, you get? Great powers play by different rules. Haven’t you seen what we’ve been doing around the world the past 77 years?
Putiin was being diddled with since the Iraq war-Russia had oil sevice contracts with Iraq which were wiped out, he was the CIA stealing elections i Ukraine.
No,. 1, we have invaded Panama and bombed with NATO 5 or 6 countries in the last 25 years; we cannot make a big deal about invasion as if it was a mortal sin.
No 2 they should have thought about that before they overthrew the government in 2014 and have been considering Ukraine’s ascension against Russian’s objections for 25 years.
Now, they really cannot take their revenge too far or the rope will break.
The outrage about the Russians is not due to morals but about the fact that only WE (and NATO) should be able to do it.
Is there a better way to punish war-making than by making it too costly to continue? Or is this site somehow under the impression that Russia invading Ukraine is a good war that should be allowed unhindered?
There is no such thing as a “good war”. What bothers me is the hypocrisy of the “West” What type of punishment was even though of when the US military was unleashing devastating “shock and awe” on Baghdad, immediately killing thousands and eventually destroying an entire society? The Iraq invasion, based on nothing but lies. The US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan for two decades resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Then there is Syria, Libya, etc.
The stampede to denounce everyone and everything Russian is hypocritical and dangerous
While i agree with most points, WW2 seems to have been a good war-extremely evil vs. reasonably good.
Britian / France helped Hitler into power , Britian also taught the Japanes how to build air craft carriers you know the ones that carried the air craft to bomb Hawaii
The Treaty of Versailles which tied defeated Germany’s hands and feet while demanding war reparations penalties which Germany could not afford led to hyperinflation and the rise of Hitler. Exactly what they want to do with Russia now.
Except for a minor detail; Russia is not defeated and does not need to rearm.
What do you call NATOs grand tour of the M. E 500,000 children dead and that was just IRAQ , some of the posters seem like 10 year olds they have no idea of history or current events , they believe everything the MSM tells them , they don`t call them sheep for nothing.
This particular war, where you have nuclear powers involved, you don’t want it to extend too long. The only way to make it too costly is by us getting involved. If we dont, it is just like fighting a fire with a garden hose, whether you like it or not.
The hypocrisy is so thick it makes you gag.
Its stunningly garish; like a bad interpretation of 1984 except apparently in real life.
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2022/03/02/the-headlines-say-it-all/
The Headlines Say It All.
And when WW3 starts Europe will be “Searing”
Anyone getting access to RT news ?
I was not able to access the RT website over the weekend, however, all of a sudden Monday, the site became available
Very intermittently. I don’t get RT on TV, though.
The website doe not seem formally banned in North America like it may be in the UK and EU.
RT has been removed from San Francisco-based Disqus forum provider.
Comments there are on something called Telegam, which looks based in the Virgin Islands and Dubai.
Sputnik has been working consistently.
I never really liked RT anyway; great political commentary and science; when they were good they were very good. But their human interest stuff could be off.
I do not see how will the impact hit ordinary citizens. This has become a cliche. Ordinary citizens that do not travel abroad, who do not study abroad, or have business in/with European companies, are not going to see it. Primarily because Russia is self-sufficient in food, since previious sanction resulted in massive investment in agriculture and food production. Result? Russia in number one exporter of wheat. Second inflationary factor, besides food, energy, is again not a factor in inflation.
Impact will be greatest on those who travel, study, or work abroad. Travel itself may not be a problem as Russian planes can still operate in a number of countries, and connecting flights to other destination are anyway the commin way to travel. Russian air carriers will fly to any number of destinations including current very common transfer destination, Turkey. Cliser to US, Russian carriers fly to Mexico and a number of other Central American and Latin American destinations, including its biggest markets, Brazil snd Argentina.
Impacts will be on businesses, but it will vary depending on how diversified they are.
But it has been fascinating to see how corporations in the West are ordered so easily to tow the state line, snd we thought this can hapoen only in China!
Obama once said after sanctions in 2014 that Russian economy was in tatters. He was clearly wriong, Russia has bern preparing for Western attacks in its economy since the glibal crisis of 2008. That was the year Russia learned that private sector indebtedness is just as dangerous as state debts,
As for oligarchs, Ibdo not think anybody is shedding tears. They will need Russia now more than ever.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6e0a75cd5162693b2849cad1cb5911cc773db69a67d82df098f9c7f7ab9e6fe4.jpg
Of course Ukraine has its own oligarchs, mainly in the field of gas and energy. Two well-known Americans used to work for them: Giuliani and Biden’s son. These Ukrainian oligarchs support Zelinsky because they fear that by a Russian takeover of Ukraine’s governance they will become plundered by the Russian oligarchs.
Good motivation, hey?
I mean, do YOU want to deal with an extra set of bribes to do business? Why would Ukrainians?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/07/18/wwii-70-years-later-truman-viewed-bomb-tragic-necessary/30372879/
The historical context behind Truman’s decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
I didn’t find any references to Truman seeking psychological counseling before or after the deed.
As to our current US president’s mental capacity, critical thinking skills, and a general fitness for office, you can be the judge. Democrats don’t seem to be.
I believe the prevailing Western thought towards Mr. Putin’s willingness to use nuclear weapons doesn’t necessarily parallel those of Harry Truman. As long as President Putin never uses them, the globalists may believe they can acquire more global influence (countries) while simultaneously destroying economies during the interregnum of a global reset.
When and if the Russians launch the first nuclear salvos, someone in a Washington DC bunker will realize, shockingly, that they’ll have to retaliate and that all heretofore aspects US life are no longer possible.
Destroying Russia by all means necessary is Machiavellian and is natural by Western standards. It goes without saying, doesn’t it: the end justifies the means.
“As to our current US president’s mental capacity, critical thinking skills, and a general fitness for office, you can be the judge. Democrats don’t seem to be.”
Indeed. And I hope that is remembered in 2024. By both parties.
I couldn’t watch the show last night … the man is so obviously incapable … I don’t even like Biden, but that was sad to see.
Do you really think the globalists will let their man loose?
The poor Russians, they are a bunch of amateurs, they should have known better. I mean compared to the US they will loose every time, why? Because we know how to win, we’ve been in so many wars and done so much killing that nobody has a chance against us. We are the champions, we know how to wage war always in somebody else’s Country, we don’t have to fire a shot or drop a bomb, we have it down pat. It’s because of Vietnam, we know that wars are won or lost in the mainstream media, the pentagon has been refining our propaganda forces ever since we were defeated and if anyone were to speak truth against us we can ban them from the airwaves or throw them in jail. I don’t know who we are anymore,it’s kind of scary.