Ruslan Bortnik discussed the feasibility of crashing oil prices to choke Russia: "It's a toxic process that remains unlikely for now."

He discussed this in his blog.

The expert notes that there are already reports suggesting that the U.S. intends to pressure Saudi Arabia and OPEC to lower oil prices and other energy resources in an effort to undermine the Russian economy. Currently, he reminds us, oil is priced at approximately $80 per barrel, with Russian oil being sold at a discount, bringing it down to around $60.

“But this is a very naive approach, because, for instance, the Russian budget is based on figures of $60-80 per barrel, while the Saudi Arabian budget is based on $130 per barrel. How can the U.S. persuade Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members to forgo their revenues, reduce oil prices, and increase production, thereby exacerbating their budget deficits? Well, that question remains very open, very complex, and quite challenging,” emphasizes Ruslan Bortnik.

Moreover, he asserts that a decrease in oil prices will not lead to immediate changes; it will have a delayed effect, and Russian reserves will allow for continued escalation of the war for some time. Additionally, the expert continues, a drop in energy prices could trigger a global economic recession and a trade war between the U.S. and OPEC countries, which would become a problem not only for Moscow but for all export-oriented nations.

“For the U.S. to achieve a reduction in prices, they would need to drastically lower the prices of their own energy resources. However, this would mean incurring losses in the sale and extraction of their energy resources, which are not cheap in the U.S. context. To effectively squeeze Russia energetically, Trump would have to undertake insane economic costs. This would likely amount to hundreds of billions of dollars, along with expenses to support allies, compensate for losses in their own businesses, and many other factors. This is a very complicated, very toxic, and currently unlikely process,” explains Ruslan Bortnik.

As reported by Znai.ua, Musiienko warned that Putin wants to execute a Georgian scenario in Ukraine.

Znai.ua also reported that Dubina shared insights on how Ukraine is living today: “Some are fighting, others are looting, while the rest justify them”.