Launching Salvos of Sanctions

A new kind of artillery

Photo by Trey Musk on Unsplash

With the Ukraine war we are witnessing an entirely new kind of warfare. On the ground we are seeing how a highly motivated defense, mainly armed with modern handheld weapons, can defeat traditional Blitzkrieg tactics involving a coordinated mass attack by tanks, infantry, and air power, all moving at lightning speed. Blitzkrieg actually translates as ‘lightning war’.

If it gets bogged down, as it has, it is no longer Blitzkrieg.

It only works if it is highly coordinated. In Russia’s case it is not. From the beginning the entire strategy was flawed on multiple levels and the Ukrainian forces have capitalized on that. But this article is not only about weapons on the ground killing people.

It is about a new kind of weapon, economic weapons. Economic weapons, like financial and import sanctions, are a recent development driven by the global economy. The economies of the planet are heavily interwoven and no country has real economic independence. They rely on trade, international economic development, and international banking and investment.

Russia is no exception, in fact it is heavily reliant on participation in the global economy. So, to a much greater extent, is its sometime ally, China. This interreliance is a weakness when the majority of the countries on the planet decide an aggressor must be punished where it hurts most, financially.

We have unleashed the economic hounds of hell at Russia, at all levels of its society. This is virtually impossible for a country with a weak economy like Russia’s to defend against. The rest of the world needs little of what they have to offer. But they need practically everything we have to offer.

Now we are shutting off access to those necessities. Credit, international travel, goods and services, overseas bank accounts and assets. Things like airplane parts that are critical in a huge country like Russia. All have been closed down and there is more to come.

This morning, four weeks into this war, the Russian economy has collapsed. In an article in the Guardian, the writer describes a shocking return to USSR grocery lines for staples like sugar. It is startling that it only took four weeks for their economy to revert to…