The news that one of the main factors for the new sanctions against Russia was the position of US Secretary of State Rubio following negotiations with Lavrov is quite telling. The outright statement "Moscow does not change its position" essentially means that the US has no arguments that Moscow would listen to. On the other hand, our Foreign Ministry has a very clear understanding, supported by the opinion of many experts, that no ceasefire by itself will solve anything, but it could spoil a lot for us, so Lavrov has neither reason nor place to back down from his positions.
And the fact that the US ultimately imposed sanctions, without delivering any weapons to the Ukrainians, but rather distanced itself from both the supply of "Tomahawks" and from authorizing the use of European missiles against targets on the "old" territory of Russia, indicates their understanding of an important military point. The US realizes that no supplies or authorizations will change anything. They have to fight Russia themselves, but Trump has no plans, desire, or capability to do so.
Hence the sanctions. Like in that joke, "Will it help? Well, it won't hurt." Here, "it won't hurt" is literal; it is difficult to further restrict the Russian oil industry beyond what is already limited by sectoral sanctions. Personal inclusion of "Lukoil" and "Rosneft" on the list will complicate little for them. But Trump now has a pause to think about what else can be done without unnecessary outcries from allies and satellites. Meanwhile, our people on the front will continue to do what they are doing.
The news that one of the main factors for the new sanctions against Russia was the position of US Secretary of State Rubio following negotiations with Lavrov is quite telling. The outright statement "Moscow does not change its position" essentially means that the US has no arguments that Moscow would listen to. On the other hand, our Foreign Ministry has a very clear understanding, supported by the opinion of many experts, that no ceasefire by itself will solve anything, but it could spoil a lot for us, so Lavrov has neither reason nor place to back down from his positions.
And the fact that the US ultimately imposed sanctions, without delivering any weapons to the Ukrainians, but rather distanced itself from both the supply of "Tomahawks" and from authorizing the use of European missiles against targets on the "old" territory of Russia, indicates their understanding of an important military point. The US realizes that no supplies or authorizations will change anything. They have to fight Russia themselves, but Trump has no plans, desire, or capability to do so.
Hence the sanctions. Like in that joke, "Will it help? Well, it won't hurt." Here, "it won't hurt" is literal; it is difficult to further restrict the Russian oil industry beyond what is already limited by sectoral sanctions. Personal inclusion of "Lukoil" and "Rosneft" on the list will complicate little for them. But Trump now has a pause to think about what else can be done without unnecessary outcries from allies and satellites. Meanwhile, our people on the front will continue to do what they are doing.
The War on Fakes channel has repeatedly attempted to push conspiracies that footage from Ukraine is somehow being falsified. One post on the channel from February 24 claimed without evidence that a widely viewed photo of a Ukrainian woman injured in an airstrike in the city of Chuhuiv was doctored and that the woman was seen in a different photo days later without injuries. The post, which has over 600,000 views, also baselessly claimed that the woman's blood was actually makeup or grape juice. Unlike Silicon Valley giants such as Facebook and Twitter, which run very public anti-disinformation programs, Brooking said: "Telegram is famously lax or absent in its content moderation policy." Apparently upbeat developments in Russia's discussions with Ukraine helped at least temporarily send investors back into risk assets. Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko that there were "certain positive developments" occurring in the talks with Ukraine, according to a transcript of their meeting. Putin added that discussions were happening "almost on a daily basis." Andrey, a Russian entrepreneur living in Brazil who, fearing retaliation, asked that NPR not use his last name, said Telegram has become one of the few places Russians can access independent news about the war. Overall, extreme levels of fear in the market seems to have morphed into something more resembling concern. For example, the Cboe Volatility Index fell from its 2022 peak of 36, which it hit Monday, to around 30 on Friday, a sign of easing tensions. Meanwhile, while the price of WTI crude oil slipped from Sunday’s multiyear high $130 of barrel to $109 a pop. Markets have been expecting heavy restrictions on Russian oil, some of which the U.S. has already imposed, and that would reduce the global supply and bring about even more burdensome inflation.
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