Three Hundred BILLION?

https://www.rt.com/russia/586827-peskov-house-russian-assets/

The question isn't being asked: WHY on earth would Putin leave *300 billion USD* on deposit with the US Federal Reserve, when even I could have predicted the grab? I've honestly tried seeing things from his eyes. But it's become clear his vision is rather flawed. And what are those "serious costs" Peskov is threatening? A strongly worded diplomatic protest at the UN? Hacking Latvia's tourist bureau computers?

The seizure of Russian cash reserves in the US Federal Reserve (and European banks) has left Russia dangerously low on cash at a time when it needs it badly. My own sense, which used to be favorable towards Putin, has become that he too, like many other politicians, is working a profiteering side hustle regarding Ukraine.

"He has an ace up his sleeve... somewhere..." you might counter. But as the war drags on, 20 months now with no end in sight, that's looking less and less likely. And for weeks, if not months, after the SMO commenced and NATO's malice and treachery became undeniable, Putin was still speaking in hopeful tones of "our Western partners". Now Russia finds itself bogged down in its own Vietnam - with no end in sight. A war Russia could and should have won in a few weeks.

                        Nineteen months in. Maybe CNN is right?

Yep, Russia could have quickly wrapped things up in Ukraine... just by taking out Ukraine's power grid. Or destroying the 20-odd bridges being used to carry men and munitions across the Dniepr river to the front. But that hasn't happened.

"Putin is playing 3D chess!" you say? For my money he only *thinks* he's playing 3D chess. But his foolish oversight regarding that $300 billion raises real questions about his competency.

So, from the look of how things have been going over there, they're in for a long war.

I probably don't need to remind anyone of this, but within THREE months of Germany's invasion of the USSR in 1941, they'd fought their way 350 plus miles into the USSR, destroyed two Soviet armies and ravaged three others, and encircled and captured Kiev. So, it can be done.

Given their great suffering over the past 105 years I wish Russians all the best. And I hope that Putin isn't leading them down the slippery slope.


Fitz