More signs that the Special Military Operation is going well.
The key is simply ensuring that Ukraine survives whatever Putin’s planning next. This sell-off might be to fund a troop surge. There’s zero chance that Putin loses the war without at least attempting a general mobilization first. Regardless of how badly it would have the potential to backfire, it’s definitely a desperation tactic that Putin will at least attempt before admitting defeat. Ukraine’s strategy is working at the moment, but in much the same way that Ukraine attacking Russia’s economic resources is putting Russia under pressure, Russia stretching Ukraine’s manpower could put Ukraine under pressure.
In the recent drama between Fedorov and Syrskyi, one of the things Syrskyi mentioned at his dismissal was how complicated troop procurement has been. The West can loan Ukraine money, but it can’t help with Ukraine’s manpower. So whether or not Ukraine’s drone strategy can still neutralize Russia’s manpower advantage if Russia issues a general mobilization order is a question I’ve been worrying about.
America is speedrunning its descent to become the first 5th world country, but- WOAH! THERE’S RUSSIA WITH A STEEL CHAIR
Hahaha, dang, I think an MTV showdown of countries Speedrunning self destruction would be hella fun!
5thworldproblems
that brings me back…
… Russia’s accelerated sale of gold from its reserves. The central bank reduced its holdings for six consecutive months during the first half of 2026
Sadly doesn’t say how much gold was sold and how much is still in Russias safes. Otherwise, one could tell if there was a Mansa Musa effect on the global gold price. And what can be expected for the future of the gold value.
From OP’s article:
Earlier, reports emerged that Russia’s central bank has reduced its gold holdings for a sixth consecutive month, selling 43.5 metric tons since January in the largest six-month drawdown recorded in at least a quarter-century.
The sales came as Russia’s federal budget deficit approached 6 trillion rubles (more than $76 billion) during the first half of the year.
So we know how much gold was sold, but I couldn’t tell you how much is left.
Thanks. I guess I missed that part.
43.5 metric tons? That war surely is expensive. I wonder what the plan is to get the return on that investment. I’m being sarcastic here. People suffer and die.
Oh would you look at that. Gold price dropped by 20%+ in 2026 after its all time high in January but it’s still more than twice as expensive as 5 years ago. I think I will refrain from jumping to conclusions for now.
Sunk cost fallacy. Russia’s blunders will be one for the history books and will be in lectures of geopolitical and military academies for a long long time.
It’s more a classic lesson in authoritarianism. Yeah, they can do things that are hard to do in a democracy, but they can also drag down the country with them and you can’t vote them out.
Sunk cost fallacy.
Not quite. If Putin surrenders now he’ll be falling out of a window, so this is more or less rational self-preservation on the part of the people actually making these decisions.
There were several ready offramps at certain stages throughout. Now that you’re broke and starting to lose ground it’s harder to declare victory and erect a statue.
Surrender? I like the way you think but I’d settle for an end of war. Either way, for what he has done to Russia, I think he’s on his way out a window either way. The public would be greatful for a change in leadership. Putin opened his own window.
I like the way you think but I’d settle for an end of war.
Even if it wasn’t a surrender, it’d definitely be spun as such by his political rivals. He needs to save face somehow and the only way to do that is new territory that Ukraine isn’t going to let him have.
It’s not really sunk cost fallacy. It’s just doing what keeps him alive at this point.
How much would this be worth? And how many days of war can you fund with it?
It’s kept at the top of this 10 story building. Hopefully you don’t suddenly decide to jump out a window when you come to claim it. It would be quite ze shame.
Chat is this good
They be cooked fr fr!
This is super interesting to me, beyond the fact that it evidences the strain on Russia and it’s quickly approaching financial collapse as a consequence of disastrous war on the strong people of Ukraine. This is because I recognized the potential for the next great gold bull run back in 2017 and started allocating assets. As the 2024 election came into focus, I recognized that unfortunately Trump was likely to win, greatly destabilizing the world, tee up the financial collapse of the U.S., and pour gasoline onto what was already an impressive bull market driven by central bank purchases, and accordingly I put everything I owned into a 2x gold ETF back in June 2024, when gold was $2300 an ounce. Everything has unfolded as anticipated, but prices don’t move in a straight line, and early this year, as prices got frothy and topped $5500/oz, there was a big sell off, which is generally to be expected so I just sat tight. Now I know who was selling:
The announcement follows Russia’s accelerated sale of gold from its reserves. The central bank reduced its holdings for six consecutive months during the first half of 2026 as Moscow sought liquid assets that remained accessible despite the freezing of much of its foreign-currency reserves abroad.
Look at the chart. I further noticed that the price has seemed to make a solid bottom over the last few months at around $4000/oz, paving the way for the next move upward, which in my opinion will be the big move I’ve been waiting for.
While it may not be readily apparent to everyone, the U.S. is teetering on the brink of insolvency itself, and when it goes, the dollar will go with it and destroy it’s status as the world’s reserve currency. Bold claim I know, but hear me out. You can run a 2% budget deficit indefinitely when your economy grows by 3% annually. However, under Trump the budget deficit is ~6%, and due to his stupid trade wars and the impact on energy costs from the Iran war and other mismanagement, the U.S. economy is growing only at 2%, and probably shrinking if you take out the spending from the AI bubble. Worse, the U.S. has to roll over a big chunk of it’s national debt this year, and has to do so at much higher rates because no sane person or government wants to hold U.S. treasuries. The belligerence of the U.S. on the world stage, the shrinking of trade with the U.S., the inherent vulnerability to asset seizure, etc. makes U.S. treasuries a risky asset, which is reflected in the interest rate. 30 year treasuries have been sitting over 5% for a while now, a rate not held since the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. This is not a sign of economic health. Trump also has recently appointed his own, handpicked, fed chair, and has appointed 3 of the 7 fed governors. If one more goes, either by Trump firing them, stochastic terrorism, or other means, he will have cemented control over the fed funds rate, and you can absolutely bet he will juice rates in the short term to provide a boost going into the mid term elections in a desperate bid to maintain control over congress. Even if he doesn’t you know he’s going to declare a false emergency, put his ICE goons as every polling station with minorities, and arrest people of color to suppress voting. This in and of itself will cause more to flee U.S. bonds and necessitate money printing to try to keep the U.S. afloat. As a consequence, we will see a massive gold spike as the “exorbitant privilege” of the U.S. financial empire crumbles.
I put everything I owned into a 2x gold ETF back in June 2024
I think the largest moving etf associated with gold was Jnug with a 3 year return at around 54%. If you’re okay with yoloing your entire portfolio into a volatile etf you could have put in the shipping etf Bwet and gotten a 97% return.
Gold ETF are crazy when it comes to volatility, JNug went from a market cap of $356 per share to $121 a share in the last 6 months…
While it may not be readily apparent to everyone, the U.S. is teetering on the brink of insolvency itself, and when it goes, the dollar will go with it and destroy it’s status as the world’s reserve currency.
This is the part of your plan that makes zero sense… Yes, market instability usually increases the price of physical gold. However people who believe in gold as a currency alternative typically buy actual gold, not an ETF. If the dollar crashes how are you going to turn your ETF into liquidity?
Ignoring the dozens of inherent flaws in gold as a currency alternative, how does your investment even protect you from the crisis you predict?
