https://www.politico.eu/article/west...omy-data-show/

Markus

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, China and India have ramped up their purchases of Russian energy at discounted prices. Meanwhile, Russia has been reeling in handsome profits from its sales in which it made $24 billion in just three months to the end of May from selling energy to the two countries.

But with demand from China dropping, those profits could take a hit. According to new data, China's purchases of Russia oil dropped 14% from May as COVID lockdowns hit the economy again.

The drop-off in Chinese oil purchases raises the issue of whether Russia's economy can successfully find Asian buyers to replace barrels that no longer ship to Europe.

https://markets.businessinsider.com/...n-crude-2022-7

Himars strike closes key bridge into Russian-occupied city of Kherson

Authorities in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Kherson have closed the city's only bridge across the Dnieper river after it came under fire from US-supplied high mobility artillery rocket systems (Himars), according to Interfax and TASS reports on Wednesday.

The Antonovsky bridge has been closed for civilians but its structural integrity has not suffered from the shelling, Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-appointed city administration, told Interfax.

Separately, TASS quoted the official saying that Himars had targeted the bridge.

A Ukrainian counteroffensive to recapture the southern region from Russia could potentially benefit from the destruction of the bridge.

Best thing is IUndia re-sells their cheaply bought Russian energy to Europe - with a big plus on the price tag of course.



When that became known, first they tried to deny or hide it, but it nevertheless got confirmed soon enough.


For the going of the war and its outcome, I fear the financial and economic sancitons are almost or exactly irrelevant. Which I expected. You cannot sanction a big and strong bully like Russia if you yourself are weaker and depend on him. We need their gas for energy and chemistry more than they need our money, that simple it is. Plus we are a sensible shaky conflict-scared democracy, they are an authoritarian command-dictatorship. The long breath is Putin's, not ours I fear. As long as we do not dramatically and drastically boost our delivery of weapons.



What do people think Putin will do if he is in danger to lose the war? That he will just quit and withdraw, just accept the outcome? Of cpoiurse we must make Russia loose the war - but we must prepoare orusleves to face the frontally and stop them in their starzing blocks if their reaction to a decisive defeat in Ukraine results in them doing something stupid beyond the Ukraine. We need to prepare for the worst.



"Hope is no strategy." (Israeli General Sharon).

Maybe not exactly related to your post but what the hell. Back in March the opinion Hu Wei, the vice-chairman of the Public Policy Research Center of the Counsellor’s Office of the State Council, is of the view that Russia is doomed to economic collapse and political disintegration from Putin’s failed war.

In advising Beijing to dump Putin immediately and start rebuilding ties with the West, Hu is swimming against mainstream China and President Xi Jinping’s foreign policy.

Hu calls for “unloading the burden of Russia as soon as possible” so that China can begin “safeguarding its own best interests.”

Hu, who is also the chairman of the Shanghai Public Policy Research Association, warns:“The power of the West will grow significantly, NATO will continue to expand, and US influence in the non-Western world will increase.

“China will become more isolated,” he wrote, according to a translation of his paper published by the US-China Perception Monitor (USCNPM) on March 12. The online publication is produced by the Carter Center founded by former US president Jimmy Carter.


https://uscnpm.org/2022/03/12/hu-wei...-china-choice/

Thou more I read your comments thou more convince I become that we will see boots on the ground in Ukraine and most likely a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

If we get a harsh winter where Russia has shot down it's gas to Europe or lowered it to 10-20 % of max. Then Europe is in for a treat and can chose from plaque or cholera. That's the choice EU has.

Give in and end the sanction and let Ukraine on the own.
Stand up and go all in

Markus

Gas prices have soared after Russia further cut gas supplies to Germany and other central European countries after threatening to earlier this week.

European gas prices are up almost 2% trading above an earlier all-time high after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Critics accuse the Russian government of using gas as a political weapon.

Russia has been cutting flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany, with it now operating at less than a fifth of its normal capacity.

Germany imports 55% of its gas from Russia and most of it comes through Nord Stream 1 - with the rest coming from land-based pipelines.

Russian energy firm Gazprom has sought to justify the latest cut by saying it was needed to allow maintenance work on a turbine.

The German government, however, said there was no technical reason for it to limit the supply.

Ukraine has accused Moscow of waging a "gas war" against Europe and cutting supplies to inflict "terror" on people.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62318376

Corrected. :D

:):03:

We can all live in hope I suppose :hmmm:

Russia's 80-90% they do not sell to Europe Russia can not sell all to other countries because they do not have the pipeline capacity for it to build, those will take years. For energy, we do not need gas solar and wind energy is cheaper than energy by gas next year Russia will be another economy it already has an effect production is almost halved. Putin thinks his economy is the old soviet economy that could survive this, but their economy is a global one if it gets isolated it will halt especially when more foreign investments leave Russia, mostly the bigger ones from the west. Do not think China will help them, China will only invest when their exports to the west are not disturbed, this will happen because we will sanction China in this case. Why do you think Russia made the grain deal or is on a beggars tour of Africa, it has troubles big troubles?

Relatives of Russians killed in war also threatened to "come and kill" Ukrainians, - Fedorov. DOCUMENT

During the active fighting in Kyiv region and Chernihiv region, the Ministry of Digital began to use facial recognition services.

Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov told about this in an interview with UP, Censor.NET informs.

"For the entire time, we received about 300 photos of the killed occupiers. We found the accounts of most of the soldiers in social networks and 14 thousand accounts of their friends, relatives, acquaintances - on Facebook, Instagram, VKontakte and Odnoklassniki. At first, the task was to find relatives of Russians who died in order to notify about this and that they could take away the body of the murdered man," Fedorov said.

Communicators wrote: "Good afternoon, are you a relative of such and such a person? He died in the war in Ukraine. If you want to collect the body, here is the contact of the military."

According to the minister, the absolute majority of Russians wrote "we will also come and kill you."

"When after Buchi, photos and videos appeared that horrified everyone, we began to find people who committed these crimes. And they wrote: "Look, these people were most likely killed by your brother." We were answered: "If he did it, then yes was necessary".

Statistics on the answers we received from the Russians during the conversation: 68% - support the war, 21% - against the war, but are not ready to act, because "it does nothing" and "everything has been decided for us", 11% - against war, are ready to act and are persuading their relatives not to go to war in Ukraine," the minister said.

Antonovskiy Bridge is now impossible to cross, even for cars.

I would have thought so after viewing the aftermath.