Indeed, the point is that despite a “small” percentage, it’s not 50 times, nor 40 times, but at best 0.5 times longer. Which is still too much damage to Ukraine, but we still can win.

While this might sound like ruzzia can continue like this 50 times longer, the reality is quite different. Let’s have a look. https://tradingeconomics.com/russia/unemployment-rate

Their unemployment rate hit the historic low in September 2023. Yes, they still have 1.8 million unemployed, but since the number stayed the same while there’s a demand for human force, those are actually likely unemployable ones.

Before the war they had roughly double of that amount of unemployed ones.

So looks like

1. They already employed everybody they could
2. They already sent to war (and lost) everyone who wasn’t bringing much value

Add to that about quarter a million (assuming only 25% are men of that age) of who left (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_emigration_during_the_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine)

So yeah, they only lost 2% of potential soldiers, but it appears that already since a year ago they lost all “spare” men and every single one they scrape now is a) likely not fit for military b) was involved in military economy

Yes, they can continue like this for a while, but the cost of each new soldier will be bigger and bigger, the quality and equipment lower and lower. And the system will snap way before all of them are “expended”. Ukraine says summer next year ( https://www.kyivpost.com/post/39020 ) given all this I tend to believe that forecast.

700000 O_O

I’m not saying they have easy choices. Or good choices. But they do choose. We all do. I’d even say life is all about making small, imperfect choices.

Around 100 have joined non-Russian institutes in order to continue their physics research work with Europe’s particle-physics laboratory.

Not exactly “completely out of your control”, I’d say.

In the other hand, if digging good and settling oil to India were enough, they would not need to raid their savings this hard.

So maybe it’s not that critical to demotivate India from Russian oil…

My impression is that it’s exactly what Ukraine is doing by attacking oil refineries and reserves - make russia decide wether to sell or use themselves for the war.

I do hope that the industry taking it will just slightly delay devaluation and boom! more inflation.

You mean they will go for printer go brr?

Yes, please!

They also held 293.189 tonnes of unallocated gold, compared with 298.84 tonnes on August 1, 303.579 tonnes on July 1 and 329.795 tonnes on June 1.

So they sold almost 40 tonnes of gold in 4 months? I approve that trend.