In case you think it’s just the fact that Russia’s war against Ukraine, which was supposed to be over in weeks, is now in its fifth year, and that Russia has sustained massive military casualties (estimates are well over a million, with as many as 500,000 dead)…
…The Ukraine is also taking out Russia’s oil resources.
From John Sexton’s article at hotair.com:
Last night Ukraine struck the largest oil refinery in Russia which is located outside of Omsk, more than 1,500 miles from the Ukrainian border.
Russia has already lost about 20-25% of its refinery capacity in the past several months. This one facility accounts for something like 8-10% of Russia’s total. Of course you can’t assume it’s a complete loss but the damage looks significant.
Also last night, Ukraine hit Russia’s 5th largest refinery which is north of Moscow. This one has been hit several times before.
The Ukraine war, which was supposed to be easy pickings, has been a world-class disaster for Russia. Its reputation as a major military entity is now an international joke. And since oil sales are a huge element of the Russian economy (it accounts for something like half of Russia’s total exports), the war is devastating Russia’s economy as well.
Little wonder that, assuming the reports are correct, there are more and more army defections. Why would anyone want to die for putin’s war?
I wonder how much longer he can survive. And by that I mean not only his presidency, but his life.
I’ve said it here before and I’ll say it again now. Any day that someone – very possibly someone from putin’s personal security team – takes him out will not surprise me a bit.
