Simulated Pressure: How Tankers Are Used to Mask Coercion by Cold
The Silence of the Wolves in Washington
Propaganda feeds us the illusion of “pressure on Russia,” waving sanctions against four tankers like a flag of victory. But dry mathematics instantly exposes this spectacle: four vessels out of a shadow fleet of over eight hundred is zero. It is not even a rounding error. And considering that even within this meager list, a carousel of “detain – negotiate – release” is in operation, it becomes obvious: this is not a fight.
This is a cheap stage prop designed to distract attention from what is really happening.
Real politics is being conducted not at sea, but in dark, freezing Ukrainian cities.
Act 1. Legitimizing Torture by Cold
What we are witnessing now is not just Russia’s war against Ukraine. It is a joint operation of “forcing into reality.”
Pay attention to the silence. Massive strikes on energy infrastructure, specifically the hits on infrastructure (like yesterday’s events in the Vinnytsia region), are taking place to the accompaniment of... dead silence from Washington.
No emergency meetings, no ultimatums to the Kremlin.
Why? Because in Trump’s new geopolitical model, a blackout is no longer a crime. It is an argument.
The US Administration has consciously given a tacit carte blanche to use cold as a negotiating tool. The logic is cynical and flawless: the more unbearable life becomes for a Ukrainian, the faster society and the authorities will mature into signing a “peace” on the terms of the Putin-Trump tandem.
Act 2. Casting the Roles
The play is performed by three actors, where each clearly knows their function, even if they find it repulsive.
The Director-Client (Trump). His role is not to interfere. He “sells” Putin time and the opportunity to strike, converting Ukrainian suffering into Kyiv’s future compliance. He does not stop the hand holding the hammer, because this hammer is forging the “deal of the century” he needs. His silence is the main action.
The Executor (Putin). He does the dirty work. His task is to physically break the will to resist, bringing the situation to a humanitarian catastrophe that will make any capitulation look like a welcome salvation.
The Hostage on Stage (Zelenskyy). The most tragic and, simultaneously, the most comic figure. He is forced to pretend he doesn’t see the collusion between the Director and the Executor. He cannot call things by their names and say: “We are being killed with Washington’s consent.” Such a statement would mean the end of the game. Therefore, he is forced to play along, calling the shelling merely “proof of Russian aggression,” although in reality, it is proof of an agreed-upon mechanism of coercion.
Finale
We must stop comforting ourselves with illusions about “help” or “pressure on Russia” through Trump’s laughable sanctions.
We are not being saved. We are being methodically, cold-bloodedly, and by mutual consent driven into a dead end. The darkness outside the window is not a technical malfunction. It is the space reserved for the signature of Kyryusha Budanov under the future ultimatum—ink for which has been graciously provided by our “strategic partner.”
It is precisely him they have long and persistently tried to write into this scenario. And we have yet to evaluate this role in the spectacle.
