mcquin:
Putin may just be toppled. I keep hearing Putin has balls of steel. Assuming that is true, does his people also have steel balls or na magnet?

He is getting paranoid and mostly stays in bunker since a British minister asked his generals to overthrow him.

athaboi:
Gen gen
I think it's even nice the west didn't send their troop there...strong Sanctions then follow it up with military equipment support for Ukraine! Ukraine is doing a great job...it will be hard for Russia to fall Kiev

You're right....

Why can't Russia just build its country and let other country come there for tourism instead of fighting war that will make Russian be an enemy to the world at large

dvkot:
100years to come they will still need gas ... You think it's that easy to switch from gas to renewable

I mean alternative to were they buy gas.

Noblechykk:

And how is the message he sent going for him? You guys are over rating him. For him to consider nuclear option less than a week after the invasion shows how weak a man he is.

If Putin fire nuclear weapons, sure it will cos serious damage but that would be end of Putin anf Russia.

FERNANDEZISBACK:
This is serious tho..
Putin put your ego and pride down then tell your army to retreat..stop hurting your economy cos of your selfish interest..
Stop listening to your puppets on here who are hyping you..

I pity the average Russians who are in tears right now..most are really feeling the heat...
You deserve what's happening to you cos no sane being will act the way you did..
Some said Ukraine will fall by Sunday (DoggoneBoy) and some others ...but here they are still standing firm ambushing and taking Russia soldiers swiftly..

Where are Putin's puppet who said the sanction has no effect on Russia's economy?let's see how they plan on surviving this heavy calamity on them..
We don't want any terrorist or bloody dictators in our time..Archduke Ferdinand..Hitler.. Saddam Hussein... and some other monster taught the world a lesson and the west won't want any of those nonsense to repeat itself..

The Ukrainian military are actually not doing bad oooo...

I am even very surprised they are still standing very strong to the extent a Russian Official admits the Russian military have suffered HEAVY casualty....

Akpan107:
The Ukrainian military are actually not doing bad oooo...

I am even very surprised they are still standing very strong to the extent a Russian Official admits the Russian military have suffered HEAVY casualty....

Saw this some hour ago and I was surprised tho..

FERNANDEZISBACK:
This is serious tho..
Putin put your ego and pride down then tell your army to retreat..stop hurting your economy cos of your selfish interest..
Stop listening to your puppets on here who are hyping you..

I pity the average Russians who are in tears right now..most are really feeling the heat...
You deserve what's happening to you cos no sane being will act the way you did..
Some said Ukraine will fall by Sunday (DoggoneBoy) and some others ...but here they are still standing firm ambushing and taking Russia soldiers swiftly..

Where are Putin's puppet who said the sanction has no effect on Russia's economy?let's see how they plan on surviving this heavy calamity on them..
We don't want any terrorist or bloody dictators in our time..Archduke Ferdinand..Hitler.. Saddam Hussein... and some other monster taught the world a lesson and the west won't want any of those nonsense to repeat itself..

I'm 100% sure you are a full time house wife or you are jobless. following every thread that concerns Rusia, with your ogbomoso analysis

POSmecrhant:


I'm 100% sure you are a full time house wife or you are jobless. following every thread that concerns Rusia, with your ogbomoso analysis

Thanks..

sczeska:
The west have no intention of letting this war end, war is expensive and they’ll make sure they drag this war for as long as possible till putin gives up.
They’ll supply weapons to Ukraine for as long as it takes putin to realize this. Foreign mercenaries would also join the fight if necessary. They would sabotage the Russians at every opportunity they get.

Putin says he’ll deal with anyone who intervenes, well they don’t have to intervene directly, they’ll fight him by proxy.

Putin has seriously miscalculated, the only thing this war has achieved is uniting the Ukrainians, EU and NATO.
Even neutral Switzerland wants to sanction Russia.

You are talking about a country that have played the most active part in not one but two world wars. War is not alien to Russia.

This is the time for Nigerians in Russia to exit. Please if you are in Russia, you should leave tomorrow.

dipson4u08:


Brother, if you were in putins shoes you will do the same, United state would av done worse, nobody will allow his enemies at his back door,

Ukraine joining NATO, is a conspiracy by the USA and Ukrainian gvt.

We’re in 21st century, stop reasoning like a barberian, live and lets live is the order now’

Join any association u want simple, America can use politics to frustrate there Neigboor who doesn’t practice democracy but not to the extent of fully invading another mans country na haba

Techguy96:

I mean alternative to were they buy gas.

ok

athaboi:
Gen gen
I think it's even nice the west didn't send their troop there...strong Sanctions then follow it up with military equipment support for Ukraine! Ukraine is doing a great job...it will be hard for Russia to fall Kiev

PUTIN was planning how he will fight west but they designed Economic war for him. The west will cripple their economy as a lesson to even CHINA

---i guess Putin didn't expect the magnitude of economic sanctions against Russia---

---Norwagian oil and gas company Equinor is the latest to announce it's stopping all new investments in Russia and begin to exit its JVs---

Russia activates defences to shield $1.5 trillion economy
A slew of economic sanctions has caused the ruble to plummet to a record low.
The central bank of Russia more than doubled its key interest rate to 20 percent, the highest in almost two decades, and imposed some controls on the flow of capital [File: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg]
By Netty Ismail and Jana Randow Bloomberg
The Bank of Russia acted quickly to shield the nation’s $1.5 trillion economy from sweeping sanctions that hit key banks, pushed the ruble to a record low and left President Vladimir Putin unable to access much of his war chest of more than $640 billion.
The central bank more than doubled its key interest rate to 20%, the highest in almost two decades, and imposed some controls on the flow of capital. It was part of a barrage of announcements that eventually restored some calm after a rout that pushed some Russian Eurobonds into distressed territory last week.
“The Bank of Russia will be very flexible in using all necessary instruments,” Governor Elvira Nabiullina said in brief televised remarks in Moscow.
Facing the risk of a bank run, a rapid sell-off in assets and the steepest depreciation in the ruble since 1998, policy makers banned brokers from selling securities held by foreigners starting Monday on the Moscow Exchange. Exporters were ordered to start mandatory hard-currency revenue sales and stock trading was temporarily suspended in Moscow.
“The ruble has ceased to be a freely convertible currency with the sweeping sanctions,” said Friedrich Heinemann, head of the corporate taxation and public finance department at German think thank ZEW. “In terms of currency policy, this throws Russia back to the early 1990s and the time before the country’s comprehensive economic opening.”
Less than a week after Putin ordered his military to invade Ukraine, Russia is at risk of succumbing to the biggest financial crisis of his more than two decades in power. He gathered Nabiullina and other top officials in the Kremlin to discuss plans for a response, calling the U.S. and its allies who joined in the sanctions “the empire of lies.”
The steps taken so far on Monday represent the most forceful measures by Russia after the latest round of sanctions, with the U.S. and the European Union agreeing to block access to much of the $640 billion the country’s central bank has built up as a buffer to protect the economy.
Additional measures taken by global governments to exclude some Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system could further choke up the country’s banking system. Sanctioned institutions dominate Russia’s financial sector with $1 trillion in assets.
But the U.S. and Europe remain reluctant for now to sanction Russian energy, seeking to insulate the world economy from a greater shock. Germany’s Economy Ministry said on Monday that purchases of Russian gas remain possible using SWIFT even after the latest curbs.
In the absence of even wider trade sanctions that could ensnare Russian energy shipments, the policies implemented so far may be enough to stabilize markets, according to Renaissance Capital. The ruble recouped some losses and was trading nearly 14% weaker at around 96 per dollar as of 4:26 p.m. in Moscow. It was briefly down more than 30% earlier in the day.
“All these measures should limit the depreciation of the ruble,” said Sofya Donets, economist at Renaissance Capital in Moscow. “If the run on FX continues, we would anticipate additional direct restrictions on domestic operations.”
Nabiullina, who took no questions from reporters on Monday, said the central bank didn’t intervene in the currency market on Monday as a result of the limitations on its reserves. It spent $1 billion last Thursday and a smaller amount the following day to shore up the ruble, she said.
“We will make further decisions on monetary policy based on how the actual situation develops while assessing risks primarily in terms of the external conditions,” Nabiullina said.
Decisions to suspend some regulatory requirements amounted to a capital boost for banks by the equivalent of 900 billion rubles ($8.6 billion), she said.
The ruble’s 24% drop so far this year is the worst slump globally, prices compiled by Bloomberg show. At current levels the ruble’s slump is the biggest since 1998, the year the nation’s economy went into a tailspin and the government defaulted on its local debt.
S&P Global Ratings lowered Russia’s credit score below investment grade on Friday, while Moody’s Investors Service — which rates Russia one notch above junk — put the nation on review for a downgrade.
Policy makers are counting that the steep rate hike, alongside the mandatory conversion of export revenues and a halt to outflows from the financial market, will help restore confidence and minimize losses at home even as war continues to rage across the border.
“This is merely a reaction by the central bank to the fact that sanctions have weakened, completely neutralized their defense arsenal that they’ve built up in the past five to 10 years,” said Simon Harvey, head of FX analysis at Monex Europe Ltd. “It’s unprecedented escalation and markets are very poorly positioned for it.”
Russians were already lining up at cash machines around the country as demand for foreign currency soared. The central bank has said it was increasing supplies to ATMs to meet need and issued another statement Sunday vowing to provide banks “uninterrupted” supplies of rubles.
Most of Europe has closed its airspace to Russian carriers, which could make it difficult to physically transport cash into the country.
“I think rubles will be plenty, the question is FX,” said Viktor Szabo, an investor at Aberdeen Asset Management Plc. in London. “With reserves partially blocked, the central bank will have to prioritize, and I guess population will not be on top of the list.”
Oil and gas revenue remains a lifeline as the sale and transport of energy have largely escaped disruptions. At current prices, Russia was running a monthly current-account surplus of about $20 billion.
Still, damage to the economy will be severe from the combination of wild swings in the exchange rate and the soaring cost of money. Bloomberg Economics was already predicting a contraction in the first and second quarter even before the weekend’s sanctions and now sees the risk of an even “deeper downturn.”
Renaissance Capital said it now expects a recession this year, compared to a forecast of 3% growth expected as recently as last week.
The continued flow of oil will likely provide some relief, given the World Bank calculates commodities account for almost 70% of goods exports. About 43% of the country’s crude and condensate output is sold abroad.
If crude prices stay around $90 this year, the country’s budget could get more than $65 billion in extra revenue, adding to the Kremlin’s financial strength, economists said recently. Oil at $100 would boost the windfall closer to $73 billion.
In Russia, memories linger of hyperinflation that peaked at more than 2,500 percent in 1992 and wiped out savings in the wake of the Soviet collapse. Price growth is already running at more than double the central bank’s target, despite a series of rate hikes since last March.
Renaissance Capital estimates the suspension of operations with non-residents alone could prevent $50 billion in possible capital outflows in the coming weeks. The freeze on such transactions may stay in place for long, according to RenCap’s Donets.
“These measures may help calm down the increased market nervousness, but at the same time they undermine the foundation of monetary policy, which is focused on inflation targeting and a flexible exchange rate,” said Natalia Lavrova, chief economist at BCS Financial Group in Moscow. “We do not rule out a possible rate hike going forward or further unexpected and non-market decisions.”
(Updates with governor’s comments starting in third paragraph.)
SOURCE: BLOOMBERG

---Switzerland, the long-standing neutral state---announced that from 5pm Moscow time--- it will close its airspace to all flights from Russia and any aircraft with Russian markings---