The CNN article posted by David does not repeat Simon Tisdall’s fever dream of Putin’s downfall whose article in The Guardian Richard earlier drew to our attention.
Russia’s declining energy revenues have more to do with a glut of oil on the market than with Ukrainian strikes on its infrastructure or international sanctions. The strikes are designed to encourage the Russians to negotiate an end to the war on more favourable terms than it is offering now. I’ve seen no suggestion other than from Tisdall and bloggers encouraging further military support for Ukraine that Putin and the Russian economy are in danger of collapse. Trump’s pressure on Ukraine would intensify a hundredfold if the present strikes on Russian facilities and oil tankers were to turn the present glut into energy shortages which drive US gasoline prices higher. >From the CNN article: "Ukraine’s escalating attacks have also coincided with the first new sanctions imposed on Russia since Trump returned to office in January. In October, Trump announced full blocking sanctions on Russia’s biggest oil companies – Rosneft and Lukoil. "Prices for Russian Urals crude have gradually fallen since then to around their lowest point in the war so far, according to data from Argus Media, helping fuel a drop in Russian oil export revenues to their lowest point since February 2022, according to the International Energy Agency. In November, state media reported Russia’s oil and natural gas revenues fell almost 34% compared with the same month last year. "Vakulenko believes the attacks on Russian energy facilities are just 'one of the elements of the puzzle' of how to pressure Putin to seek peace. “'I think the amount of economic damage one has to inflict on Russia is probably more than Ukraine could create at the moment,” he said. “I believe that if push comes to shove, Russia could probably survive with half of its oil and gas exports'.” For Croft, it’s a question of whether Ukraine and its allies can stay the course. “'The combination of infrastructure attacks focused on export targets, and the staying power of blocking sanctions, I think that could potentially drive Russia back to the table, but it has to be a longer duration event,' she said. With Trump now pressuring Ukraine to accept concessions, this may be a test of his appetite to do both." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#39693): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/39693 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/116659828/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
