Sasha Lugovskyy

🇺🇦 🇺🇸 Economist. Former academic, now in private sector. Views my own. Like or repost does not equal endorsement.

[Jay in Kyiv @JayinKyiv]

The pain doesn't end for Russian grain exports, with the 10 day period of September 10-20 down -73% year-over-year, with Russia now officially exporting less grain than Ukraine.

[Jay in Kyiv @JayinKyiv]

More horrific economic data out of Russia today, as the deficit officially hits a record not even seen during the collapse of the USSR.

Even with the recent blizzard of selling off state assets, Russia's January-August budgetary deficit surpasses all records.

[Sasha Lugovskyy @SLugovskyy]

@0x_RRP @MooreUSA @LauraLoomer https://t.co/k7pzE4vjvj

[Steven Moore @MooreUSA]

Great to see @LauraLoomer and @MooreIAm in Ukraine. No substitute for first hand information.

[Steven Moore @MooreUSA]

Sanctions on Russia are popular. 83% of Trump voters and 86% of Dems support them. Lindsey Graham would be proud. Read my Substack for details.

https://t.co/lyW4yRmDly

[Steven Moore @MooreUSA]

Why does @RepLuna support Russia? @realannapaulina asks for prayers for our servicemen. But she smiled for selfies with the Russian ambassador as Putin sent 15 cargo planes full of weapons to Iran to kill US soldiers. Check out our piece in the @TB_Times. https://t.co/y9XzXTLphj

[Andrii Sybiha 🇺🇦 @andrii_sybiha]

We are grateful to the G7 for its unwavering support for Ukraine.

Cooperation between Ukraine and the G7 has become a strategic instrument of resistance to Russia’s war of aggression, transforming challenges into concrete opportunities.

We thank the Group of Seven for every assistance package and every practical step that strengthens Ukraine and our shared resilience.

We count on the G7 to further increase pressure on Russia and look forward to continued close cooperation to restore a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace for Ukraine.

https://t.co/0WT8KZQwdj

[Jason Jay Smart @officejjsmart]

🔥🔥Moscow’s Caribbean empire has officially imploded.

📌Cuba is asking Moscow to fix its air defense, S-75 (circa 1957) and S-125 (circa 1961). These are Cold War relics, and Russia still cannot reliably keep even its old exports running.

⚡Putin is out of parts and out of time.

📌After the U.S. capture of Maduro in January 2026, coupled with the regional fuel blockade, the Kremlin stopped being able to project strength in the Caribbean.

📌Now the humiliation is public: Russia is evacuating its own tourists from Cuba because it cannot guarantee that they will always have enough jet fuel to fly them home. If Russia cannot fuel planes for its own civilians, clearly it cannot sustain power projection.

📌The “mighty” Russian defense industry is now a graveyard, and its partners can see it in real time.

👉Game is nearly over for the Kremlin

[Sasha Lugovskyy @SLugovskyy]

Small undisclosed number of Tomahawks transferred to 🇺🇦 would indeed be real leverage

https://t.co/E5o1ZswgB3

[Tatiana Stanovaya @Stanovaya]

The core issue with the current Ukraine peace efforts is that the framework developed between the US and Ukraine—while incorporating some Russian interests—remains fundamentally unacceptable to Moscow. There's no need to dissect the ~20-point plan clause by clause; it's simply not a viable starting point for the Kremlin.

Following Steve Witkoff's early December visit to Moscow (accompanied by Jared Kushner), the dynamics shifted markedly: Washington intensified its coordination with Kyiv, seemingly misinterpreting Russia's stance. Over the past three weeks, Russian officials have been desperately signaling—through statements and actions—that this approach is misguided and doomed to fail.

Lavrov, Ushakov, Peskov, and Putin himself (who has visibly ramped up engagements with the military while doubling down on "we will achieve our goals") have made it clear that the revised plan is entirely unacceptable. Yet Washington continues engaging Kyiv, touting "progress" that Moscow views as illusory.

This is precisely what the Russian story about a drone attack on Putin's residence is about: a forceful "pound on the table" to make the West finally hear that the current peace negotiations are heading in a completely unacceptable direction for Moscow and to derail the emerging US-Ukrainian framework.

[Steven Moore @MooreUSA]

Torture and imprisonment await Protestants and Catholics practicing their faith in Russian-occupied Ukraine. Why? Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill declared a Holy War on Ukraine and the west. The @societyofstjohn, followers of Kirill, are on Capitol Hill today. Ask them about it.

[Jason Jay Smart @officejjsmart]

⚡️ Goodbye, beautiful Kyiv 🇺🇦!

Wrapped-up this week’s work and heading to the UK🇬🇧 to see family in a country that stands with Ukraine 🇺🇦.

Next year will be a decisive year for Ukraine 🇺🇦:

👉 Victory over fascism is near.

[Mike Pompeo @mikepompeo]

Remember: when Putin’s apologists praise him as a defender of Christendom, this is what they are embracing.

Don't miss this important documentary on the Kremlin's war on faith in Ukraine.

https://t.co/8UPqemMOO0

[SPRAVDI — Stratcom Centre @StratcomCentre]

Russia's largest oil company Rosneft reporting a devastating drop in income, earning only $3.5 billion in the first 9 months of 2025, down -70% year-over-year.

The flagship of the Russian economy now earns less than:

• Apple – ~3 days income
• Microsoft – 4–5 days income
• Saudi Aramco – ~48 hours income
• Meta (Facebook) – ~1 week income
• Visa – ~10–12 days income
• ExxonMobil – ~2 weeks income
• McDonald’s – ~7 months income
• Starbucks – ~8 months income

Russia’s ‘oil giant’ now competes on profit timelines with coffee shops and burger chains.

[Steve Rosenberg @BBCSteveR]

“The Russian car market is on the way to becoming like Cuba, or the USSR", reports one Russian paper today. Another writes about “the crisis in mortgages and housing construction.” #ReadingRussia

[Janis Kluge @jakluge]

The initial impact of oil sanctions against Lukoil and Rosneft seems to be bigger than I expected: Discounts are widening even more, to 24 dollars, as Chinese and Indian refiners are reluctant to buy. Bloomberg reports that Russian Urals fell to 36 dollars.

[Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 @jurgen_nauditt]

The spokeswoman for putin's Foreign Ministry, Masha Zakharova, has just finished washing her hair and emerged with some criticism of the European Union: "Let's analyze the economic problems in Western European countries!"

Okay, Masha, let's take a look:

Germany:
Average salary: €4,323.
Minimum wage: €2,161.
Average pension: €1,769.

Russia:
Average salary: €560.
Minimum wage: €239.
Average pension: €238.

Shall we continue, or is that enough? 😂😂😂

https://t.co/s06SXYaTXp

[Sasha Lugovskyy @SLugovskyy]

Urals crude just dipped below $37/barrel, far below Russia’s $59 forecast baked into its 2026 budget. That gap isn’t just wide—it’s devastating. Filling it looks near-impossible. A fiscal reckoning looms.

[Sasha Lugovskyy @SLugovskyy]

@MooreUSA @HelloLauraKelly @thehill Great piece indeed

[Sasha Lugovskyy @SLugovskyy]

Solid piece by @UKRAINEFREEDOM7 @MooreUSA explaining hope Russia tries to influence US government via Russian Orthodox Church.

https://t.co/cjSH9U4m6a