Posted originally on Apr 25, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Nearly $300 billion worth of confiscated frozen Russian assets have been set to the side by the West. Some of the world’s leading decision-makers have been urging the powers that be to release these funds into Ukraine, arming Russia’s enemy with the private wealth of its own citizens. Russia has finally responded to these threats near our critical turning point during the week of April 19/20, 2024.

Russian authorities released a statement to say that they are fully prepared to implement retaliatory measures.

“We also have a prepared answer,” Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the Russian upper house of parliament, was quoted as saying by state news agency RIA. “We have a draft law, which we are ready to consider immediately, on retaliatory measures.” While the precise retaliatory measures have not been stated, it is safe to assume that Russia will begin to confiscate Western assets. “And the Europeans will lose more than we do,” Matviyenko, who is a member of Russia’s powerful Security Council, said.

The response also comes ahead of the critical target of May 7, which also happens to be the next Russian election. The computer selected the date many years ago. The people want a strong leader who will fight to return what is rightfully theirs. The West has never technically been at war with Russia and Russia has been overly patient in awaiting a response. As it seems the funds will be released in the slush fund which is Ukraine, Russia has been forced to respond.

It is unclear how much Russia holds in foreign assets. Russian Parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said he believes that Russia would be justified in seizing these assets, especially after the US House of Representatives recently voted on legislation that will expand the illegal seizure of private Russian assets. Russia noted that Europe has more to lose than America because Europeans have more invested in Russia. Europe holds the majority of Russian assets, freezing around $224 billion in assets compared to the $5 to $6 trillion held by the US.

Now Volodin is prepared for more than mere economic warfare. In January, he stated that Russia was prepared to unleash a “global catastrophe” upon all unfriendly nations for creating this proxy war in Ukraine. “Arguments that the nuclear powers have not previously used weapons of mass destruction in local conflicts are untenable. This is because these states have not faced a situation in which the security of their citizens and the territorial integrity of their countries were threatened,” he stated in January 2024. He then stated on Telegram: “With their decisions, Washington and Brussels are leading the world to a terrible war … foreign politicians making such decisions need to understand that this could end in a global tragedy that will destroy their countries.”

Now, the amount frozen surpasses Ukraine’s entire GDP, but world leaders are using it as a ruse to cover up the fact that their own nations are in a liquidity crisis. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen falsely claims that sending off these assets to Ukraine would “incentivize [Russia] to come to the table to negotiate a just peace with Ukraine.” She knows that Moscow has been prohibited from seeking a peace treaty since this war began. Putin went on a live stream that was broadcast around the globe and said he would welcome a call from Zelensky at any time to arrange a peace treaty.

The wise have been pouring money out into anything tangible. Everything from collectible cars to art, antiques, coins, and stamps have been rising. Geopolitics have collided with plans for the Great Reset, and private assets will be used on the economic battlefield.

In this wholesale confiscation of private assets, these politicians are using the excuse of Ukraine to implement a completely new normal procedure – the confiscation of billions without asking who the funds belong to and whether there is a connection to the Ukraine war. There is no check or balance for where the money is spent or sent.

For all intents and purposes, the people who lost their life savings are mostly private citizens who have been victims of circumstance. They did not fund Russia’s invasion or have a say in their government’s decisions. Russia now states that they view this as a complete violation of international law as an act of war and they are willing to play the same dirty game.

This will change world trade entirely. People will be wary of international investments in places where they too may face illegal seizures. Why would, say, someone in China continue investing in Europe and the US when hostilities are building with Taiwan? These politicians simply fail to see the longterm damage that their policies create.

The West deliberately pushed Russia to suspend servicing their debts to Western lenders in preparation for their own excuse to suspend their own servicing of debts. As usual with sanctions, not only the person against whom the sanctions are directed, in this case, Russia, is harmed but also this has undermined the entire world economy ensuring its collapse in the years ahead. In this context, it cannot be stressed enough that sanctions historically have never worked and they know that they are generally pointless.

There is absolutely no question that we are headed into a very serious sovereign debt default. Western governments have been engaging in a Ponzi scheme, and the house of cards comes crashing down when they can no longer sell new debt to redeem the old. They need this war as an excuse to cover up their fiscal mismanagement, and they will then start all over again with digital currencies.