Despite Presidentish Joe Biden’s tough Russia sanctions, Moscow is selling more oil — and at higher prices — while Americans are spending more than ever just to fill ‘er up.
The ruble is stronger, too, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
As I informed readers three months ago, it’s basically impossible to stop commodity sales through sanctions. Everybody needs oil, and if Country A is no longer allowed to sell to Country B, it’s a sure thing that Country C will pick up the slack.
VodkaPundit readers will not be shocked by this headline: Russian oil, shunned by the West, finds eager buyers in India and China.
India, China and other Asian nations are becoming an increasingly vital source of oil revenues for Moscow despite strong pressure from the U.S. not to increase their purchases, as the European Union and other allies cut off energy imports from Russia in line with sanctions over the war on Ukraine.
Such sales are boosting Russian export revenues at a time when Washington and allies are trying to limit financial flows supporting Moscow’s war effort.
There’s a way to do that: Increase American oil production and get the price of a barrel of oil to start dropping again. But Biden won’t do that, so you, gentle reader, are effectively subsidizing Putin’s aggression with every gallon of $5 gas you pump into your tank.
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Biden Administration officials told us at least five times that sanctions against Russia would deter Putin from invading Ukraine.
They didn’t.
Then we were told in April that sanctions had their economy “poised to crash.”
That hasn’t happened, either. Is Russia hurting? Yes. Hurting enough to force Putin to order the Russian Army out of Ukraine? Hardly.
We were also told that sanctions would “torpedo” the ruble.
Well, guess what: After a sharp (but brief) dip in March, the ruble is now trading at or near five-year highs against the dollar.
In fact, the ruble hasn’t been this strong since right after the Barack Obama sanctions kicked in following Putin’s first invasion of Ukraine in October of 2014.
Delusions about the efficacy of the sanctions persist. The Guardian lead a Saturday report with news that Russian “beauty clinics are running out of Botox,” as though that were newsworthy.
Plus:
“The sanctions have exceeded most people’s expectations and they have exceeded Putin’s as well,” [Tim Ash, a Russia expert at the Chatham House think tank] says. “The self-sanctioning by the likes of McDonald’s has also hit the Russian economy, with around 1,000 major businesses pulling out of the country when they didn’t need to. They weren’t on any sanctions list.”
Meanwhile: Russia unveils rebrand of former McDonald’s franchises as ‘Tasty and that’s it.’
Russian oligarchs are cashing in on high oil prices and the opportunity to take over, dirt-cheap, businesses like Mcdonald’s abandoned by Western firms.
Is the average Russian suffering due to sanctions? Yes, but the average Russian doesn’t get a genuine say in his own government.
We’re punishing those who didn’t start this war, driving them deeper into Putin’s arms.
So I have to ask the American President who sold us and the world so hard on them: How are those sanctions workin’ out for ya, Joe?
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