Who could have possibly predicted that Trump would side with Putin? What an utterly shocking development if only there had been years of obsequious praise, leaked intelligence to Russian officials, and repeated calls to dismantle NATO as clues! Truly, nobody saw this coming.

Krasnov’s job is to deliver a Russian victory, while making it look to be in spite of US efforts

Putin’s little puppet doing his bidding.

We can only act surprised about everything coming down to oil for so long, right?

Even if true (which I have long believed to be true) the Russian accomplice angle hasn’t been playing very well in the US among US voters

Trump and his cronies have effectively astroturfed that subject across a large section of the population

A more effective approach would be focused on the price of oil, force Trump’s hand to make a move that would crater oil prices

That would hurt Russia even more than destroying refineries

For Ukraine, the case appears increasingly clear. To reduce Russia’s ability to wage war, it must target the resources that finance it. And until that is allowed without constraint, officials suggest, Moscow will remain confident it can act without meaningful economic consequence.

Do it, Ukraine. You don’t need our permission. We’re royally fucked over here anyway.