Thank You for Standing With Ukraine
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Russia is not simply absorbing Western pressure—it is accelerating a strategic turn toward Asia. China is reporting sharply higher trade with Russia, Thailand is openly exploring Russian energy supplies, and Moscow is betting that new markets can help keep its economy functioning even as sanctions and war costs continue to bite.

In this update, we connect several developments unfolding at the same time: Russia's Supreme Court rejection of Yabloko's appeal, China reporting $159.9 billion in bilateral trade from January through July, Thailand's interest in Russian oil, gas, fertilizer and the Sakhalin-2 project, and Sergey Lavrov's confrontation with Japan over Vladimir Putin's visit to disputed islands. Together, they show a Russia becoming more closed politically while looking increasingly eastward economically.

Then we tackle the difficult question directly: will the Russian economy actually collapse? There are serious pressures from sanctions, deficits, labor shortages, inflation and war spending—but Russia still has energy revenue, financial buffers and access to major Asian markets. Europe has dramatically reduced its dependence on Russian gas since 2022, but Russia still accounts for 12.7% of the EU supply mix discussed in this video.

For Ukraine, the strategic answer remains difficult but clear: keep fighting, keep applying pressure, strengthen sanctions, and keep pushing the United States, Europe and other partners to reduce the economic lifelines that continue to support Moscow's war machine.

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CHAPTERS
0:00 Something Big Is Happening Inside Russia
1:20 Yabloko Is Pushed Out
2:05 China Reports Surging Trade With Russia
3:58 Thailand Looks to Russia for Energy
7:48 Why Sakhalin-2 Matters
9:45 Lavrov Confronts Japan
10:46 Will Russia's Economy Actually Collapse?
13:34 Europe's Gas Map Has Changed
15:29 What Ukraine Can Still Do
16:42 Inside Ukraine Update Coming Later

#Ukraine #Russia #Putin #China #Thailand #RussianEconomy #Sanctions #Sakhalin2 #EuropeanUnion #EnergySecurity