The impact of the West’s sanctions just seems to be getting worse and worse for Russia.
Now, 98% of Chinese banks — even small regional ones — are refusing to accept direct Chinese payment transfers from Russia, Alexey Razumovsky, the commercial director of the payments company Impaya Rus, told the pro-Kremlin media outlet Izvestia.
Such issues appear to have intensified over the past three weeks, as smaller Chinese financial companies were still processing Russian payments in May and June, Izvestia reported.
Last month, the Russian outlet Kommersant reported that about 80% of bank transfers made in the Chinese yuan were bouncing back with no explanation after being stalled for weeks while banks decided whether they could transact.
Razumovsky told Izvestia the payment challenges with Chinese banks could contribute to supply-chain difficulties and inflation in Russia.
The craziest part of all this is that when the invasion of Ukraine started, some of my coworker friends had genuine concerns that pootie was gonna lean on his nukes.
He still might! Suppose this goes on for several more years and Ukraine keeps getting support and gaining more territory. Then they decide to make a run at capturing Moscow, Prigozhin style. Putin might decide that nuking Kyiv is his only chance at stopping Ukraine from toppling his regime!
If there was ever a good time to use tactical nukes, it was now. Since he didn’t there’s obviously a reason, be it their questionable state or them being scared of the west’s retaliation.
Yes or he’s afraid that if he gives the order to fire a nuke it will be refused and then he is finished. Firing a nuke at Ukrainian forces on Russian soil is no trivial matter. You end up destroying Russian towns and civilian infrastructure.
Ukraine’s forces are now spread out too much within the Kursk region. He needed to fire the nuke at the beginning of the incursion. But of course that would’ve been before he had the chance to evacuate all the civilians from the area.
I think the realities of all this prove that tactical nukes are pretty useless as a defensive weapon. They seem to mainly have their use for a surprise first strike.
Gloomy yet plausible 🫨