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But here’s the kicker: Russia is the biggest beneficiary of the Middle East war, based on Standard Chartered analysis.

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Russia is eagerly capitalizing on both higher market prices and desperate customers looking for alternate sources.

The U.S. Treasury has granted special permission for Indian refiners to purchase sanctioned Russian crude, as long as it was loaded onto a tanker before 5th March. StanChart notes that these loaded, but previously uncommitted, cargoes have been rapidly bought in the spot market, saying that this short-term waiver could potentially double the volume of Russia’s oil exports to India from 1 mb/d to 2 mb/d in the near term.

Russian crude surged 10.7% to trade at $100.67 per barrel at 1.45 pm ET, with Urals crude trading at a premium to the Brent international benchmark for the first time in history, primarily due to the severe supply shock in the Middle East and shifting trade dynamics in Asia. Facing a massive shortage of Middle Eastern "medium sour" crude (a grade similar to Urals), Indian refiners have turned aggressively to Russian supplies.

This surge in demand was facilitated by the 30-day waiver from the U.S. allowing Indian refiners to receive Russian crude already on tankers to stabilize local energy security. Brent is a light, sweet crude, whereas Urals is a medium sour grade. Because Middle Eastern production of sour crude is currently offline or unreachable, refiners that require this specific feedstock are paying a premium of $4 to $5 per barrel above Brent on a delivered basis to secure Russian barrels.

Quote (Malopox @ 15 Mar 2026 20:05)

Ukraine’s “Jewish president” awarding a guy who peddles Lebensraum T-shirts is something that’s difficult to explain rationally.
https://i.imgur.com/h4KESsD.png
https://i.imgur.com/JEN8J6c.jpeg

Quote (Norlander @ 15 Mar 2026 19:13)

^Many_Names

I'd like to get your take on it.

Quote (Many_Names @ 15 Mar 2026 19:19)

It’s likely a case of a massive vetting failure rather than a personal endorsement. In the middle of an existential war, the government’s priority is survival and results on the ground. When you're fighting for your country's existence, you often have to work with whoever is providing critical support, even if their personal business or politics are controversial. It’s a messy reality where pragmatism often outweighs perfect optics.

Quote (Malopox @ 15 Mar 2026 20:28)

So it’s ok?

How about this one.
https://i.imgur.com/vYv38jA.jpeg
"Ukraine exists precisely because we have people like you," the 🇺🇦 president said. Thank god the neo-Nazi football hooligans simply want to defend freedom & democracy, and don't have any sinister agendas.

https://i.imgur.com/LqNo0rw.jpeg
Denys Prokopenko, a former football hooligan associated with the "White Boys Club" who has a Nazi death rune tattoo on his arm and fought in a platoon, the "Borodach Division," which used a bearded Nazi totenkopf as its symbol.

Maybe I need to adjust my moral compass. I guess.

Quote (Many_Names @ Mar 15 2026 11:40am)

I dont really know much about it, but in hebrew we have a saying
In a land with no songbirds, even a rear end sounds like a nightingale

Quote (Black XistenZ @ 16 Mar 2026 12:14)

Is it really that hard to contextualize this kind of stuff? Half of Ukraine had been starved to death by Stalin when the Nazis invaded. Forced to choose between two awful sides, it made perfect sense at the time for the Ukrainian ultranationalists to alilgn with the Nazis against Stalin. From there, it's not hard to see how this thing took on a life of its own and how Nazi symbolism and imagery became a staple of Ukraine's ultranationalist movement.

When an Ukrainian rube born in 1999 wears a swastika tattoo, this doesn't necessarily have to imply that he wants to gas the Jews and gypsies, or that he wants Europe to be ruled by a thousand year Reich headquartered in Berlin, lol. I mean, look at these guys - they're not exactly scholars who have arrived at their political worldview from an intellectual angle after judiciously studying the history books and intellectually thinking things through. :rolleyes: