that more and more regions of Russia are no longer offering "coffin compensation" or death benefits to deceased soldiers' families because they are claiming that they cannot afford it. The economy is heading downhill quickly.

So many reasons to end that war.

We've been hearing for years that Russia's economy is on the brink
Like Trump's health plan
In 2 weeks

and, you're right, there have been predictions about Russia's downfall for years. But there are signs that things are getting dire, particularly the fuel shortages that are affecting everyday Russians.

The military is being forced to use World War II relics because so much of the the most advanced tech equipment is destroyed.

Putin is growing increasingly paranoid, even turning on some of the most trusted members of his inner circle.

The noose is tightening.

As for Trump's "health plan," nobody put any credence in that from the start.

Anton Gerashchenko
@Gerashchenko_en

Russia has started selling off its gold reserves for the first time to pay for the war.

The Bank of Russia has, for the first time, started real sales of physical gold from its reserves as part of the Finance Ministry’s operations to fund the state budget.

The Central Bank has begun to "mirror" the gold transactions of the National Wealth Fund (NWF) carried out by the government, the regulator’s press service reported.

These are the NWF gold sales the Finance Ministry has been conducting in recent years. Until recently, these operations were virtual: the government did not sell the precious metal on the market but instead sold it to the Central Bank, effectively shifting the gold "from one pocket to another." As a result, the bullion remained part of Russia’s gold reserves, which exceed 2.3 thousand tonnes - the fifth-largest in the world.

Now the situation has changed: the Central Bank has begun conducting real operations involving the sale of physical gold, similar to how Chinese yuan from the NWF are already being traded.

"Since the liquidity of the domestic gold market has increased in recent years, in connection with the implementation of the budget rule and other NWF operations, the Bank of Russia carries out these equivalent market operations not only by buying and selling yuan for rubles, but also partly by buying and selling gold," the Central Bank explained. It did not specify when exactly the gold sales began or their volume.

Before the war, the NWF held 405.7 tonnes of gold. Since then, the Finance Ministry has sold off 57% of that stockpile - 232.6 tonnes - to patch budget holes. As a result, by 1 November 2025, the fund’s gold holdings had fallen to 173.1 tonnes.

The total volume of the NWF’s liquid assets - which include gold and Chinese yuan - has shrunk by 55%, from $113.5 billion to $51.6 billion.

Relative to GDP, the fund’s unspent reserves have fallen fourfold - 1.9% of GDP, compared to 7.3% before the war.

but it's coming!

Link to tweet

For a brief second I thought I was going to see children (it might as well have been).

They came off the street or out of an asylum.

Is that it's been the ruzzian playbook for centuries. It's like they have no capacity to adapt to any other governing and war fighting style or philosophy. They found barbarism seems to work, or so they imagine, they decided to stick with that. Our current resident seems to be of that mentality too.

It makes me feel even more desperately sorry for the Ukrainian soldiers. I can’t even imagine the moral injury of being forced to violently kill these poor wretched souls.

1. Get out of jail free
2. I was drunk at the time
3. Couldn't get a job so this seemed like the best alternative
4. They came along in a big truck and swept us off the street
5. Didn't have anything better to do

Pick one.

These losses are staggering

Link to tweet

In the 1st couple, is that what alcohol withdrawal looks like? Or is there some developmental / neurological problem

War is a racket