Marshall S. Billingslea
@M_S_Billingslea
Husband, father. Frmr Presidential Envoy & Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing, NATO ASG, Navy Deputy Under, now Fellow at Hudson Inst.
Reupping this thread from 2 months ago. If we want to stop the killing in Ukraine, we need to flatline Putin’s economy with sanctions. Target all banks & all energy exports. Put secondary sanctions and/or tariffs on anyone who buys Russian oil. I’m cautiously optimistic…
1/3) Putin’s economy is faltering. The Central Bank’s interest rate is the highest in 20 years, at 21%. That’s because inflation is clearly worse than the official 10%. Bankruptcies are surging. The coal industry is in crisis. Putin’s National Wealth Fund is slowly depleting…
This decision is truly, unbelievably, mind-bogglingly stupid. It happens at the worst possible time given the recent positive shifts in US policy. This gifts a strong narrative to bad actors.
There haven’t been any anti-Zelensky protests since the Russian full-scale invasion of 2022, as the Ukrainian society realized that to survive it must stay united. Today’s move, unless reversed, is likely to change that. Soldiers on the front are particularly infuriated.
As a supporter of 🇺🇦, I’m concerned that revocation of the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies could be a problem: • inside Ukraine • with EU membership • with the IMF, for funding • with the US, because it will bolster critics Zelensky needs to veto this law
Indeed. There are public calls for a protest in central Kyiv tonight if Zelensky signs the bill — which he might have already done. Ukrainians have not called for mass demos since before the full-scale Russian invasion.
How bad is the reaction to this new law in Ukrainian social media? People are openly calling for demonstrations - not anonymous bots, but relatively well-known figures. It’s the first time I’ve seen such an idea gain support. Not a good sign for Zelensky's administration
Massive attack on Ukraine last night, going into early morning. Eight hours of sirens and alerts. Kyiv bore the brunt of the attack: residential buildings, kindergarten, supermarket, retail outlets, garages, vehicles, storage facilities, and the above-ground part of the…
Wait… what?
America needs to stop sending weapons abroad. Very reliable sources tell me we have roughly 8 days of offensive and defensive missiles on hand and readily available. Translation, we can fight an 8 days war and then we would have to go nuclear.
German Chancellor: We will request the Security Council to activate the "snapback" mechanism against Iran on July 15
Just inquisitive cute little guys, @noonanjo @VictoriaCoates @MeravCeren
Warning. Trespassers will be sniffed.
This week, a Russian drone strike on civilian targets in Ukraine killed a one-year old boy. He died surrounded by toys in his playroom. The US must use every tool at our disposal to pressure Vladimir Putin to stop his evil war.
Why are there children working at a marijuana facility, Gavin?
Kids running from tear gas, crying on the phone because their mother was just taken from the fields. Trump calls me “Newscum” — but he’s the real scum.
Today, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is sanctioning 22 entities for their roles in facilitating the sale of Iranian oil that benefits the terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, Iran’s most powerful paramilitary force. The Qods Force uses front…
A new massive Russian attack on our cities. It was the highest number of aerial targets in a single day: 741 targets – 728 drones of various types, including over 300 shaheds, and 13 missiles – Kinzhals and Iskanders. Most of the targets were shot down. Our interceptor drones…
President Trump has taken a strong line on facing down threats to American interests. The US must do the same against Vladimir Putin and the threat he poses to the world.
. @POTUS’ bold actions led to a ceasefire between 🇮🇷 & 🇮🇱. Damaging Iran’s nuclear program now creates conditions for a peace deal He can also take bold action to accomplish the same with 🇷🇺 & 🇺🇦. Except no use of military is needed. Just sanctions to destroy Putin’s war economy
Putin is making it very clear that any truce in Ukraine will come only when he is defeated. We talk, he kills Ukrainians. We talk some more, he kills more Ukrainians. He has openly said he wants to destroy Ukraine and that is his war aim. A combined Ukrainian-US-European effort…