Too implausible to be fiction, part 2.

How British pension fund members helped modernise the Russian military.

Remember when, in early February 2022, in response to Russia's initial incursions into Ukrainian territory, Boris Johnson, the then British Prime Minister proudly, announced to the world's media that Britain would deploy the most comprehensive, overwhelming sanctions package possible against Russia?

The initial sound bytes must have reassured the Ukrainian people who had no reason to doubt that Johnson meant what he said when he promised that every sanction possible would be imposed.

Imagine their dismay then when on February the 22nd, after attending a COBRA meeting in Westminster, what was announced was a limited sanctions package that had little, if any effect on Russian president,  Vladimir Putin’s plans.

In fact 2 days later, clearly not at all deterred by the economic response of European leaders, Russian forces began their full scale invasion of Ukraine.

Virtually every week since then we have heard how more and more ‘decisive sanctions packages’ have and will continue to be imposed against the Kremlin.

Clearly it was never the intention of the UK and EU governments to impose the promised exhaustive sanctions package!

As of December the 31st 2024 Russian was still supplying the EU with Gas and NATO countries will continue to import Russian gas at least until the end of 2025!

Clearly the idea that the west was willing to impose the level of sanctions that would cripple the Russian economy and force an end to the war was and is a myth.

As I said, this story begins in 2014 and makes the reason sanctions have failed and were designed to fail, glaringly obvious.

It was in 2014 that Putin sent troops into the Crimea, in breach of international law and in response, BlackRock announced that they were reducing their investments in Russia. CEO Larry Fink announced that the damage caused to Putn’s war machine as a result of his companies disinvestment was’ one his proudest moments’. His quote to the Sunday Times was ‘That’s a proud moment for me. If you are going to have my pension fund flows in Russia, you have to stand by international law. I would not invest in Russia at this time, not until it wants to be part of the global community.”

As the Bureau for Investigative Journalism revealed in 2022, five days before those comments were published – on the day Russian troops threatened to shoot unarmed Ukrainian soldiers in Crimea – it emerged that BlackRock had been busy buying up cheap Russian stocks!

From 2014 onwards, Putin’s relationship with the West became more and more antagonistic, as Russia flexed its Military muscles with increasing regularity and apparent disregard for potential consequences. Based on Fink’s comments, you would imagine that BlackRock continued to reduce their investments in Russia. 

The truth could not be more different!

Between 2014 and 2022 BlackRock’s investors received $1.4bn in dividends as a result of its business dealings in Russia.

The main companies to benefit from BlackRock’s investment, Gazprom, Rosneft, Sberbank, VTB, Transneft and Alrosa – which are all part state-owned – as well as Lukoil, Tatneft, Novatek and Nornickel. Ten companies that form the backbone of the Russian economy and from which the Kremlin received $46bn. By the time of the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian government had amassed a war chest of $630bn. At the same time, far from reducing its investment, BlackRock had increased their clients assets in the country to almost $20bn.

UK pension funds members unwittingly contributed to the modernisation and enlargement of the Russian war machine that saw an emboldened Vladimir Putin launch his 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

BlackRock invested billions of Dollars of funds held in its portfolio of UK pension funds directly in the very companies that funded the war in Europe!

Admittedly, BlackRock point out that the overall financial impact of their investment in Russia was negative. They lost money.

What they don't publicise as willingly is that they are the biggest institutional investors in the companies that  manufacture the arms that the US, UK and their allies have donated to Ukraine to help them ‘fightback’ against Russia. The dividends from the following companies dwarf their losses due to the negative impact of its involvement in Russia.

• Leidos Holdings Inc.

• RTX Corp.

• Airbus SE.

• Boeing Co.

If the intention was to end the war in the Ukraine, either by forcing a stalemate or allowing Ukraine to repel Russian forces, surely the IS and its allies would have been quick to give Ukraine sufficient supplies of  weapons of the calibre it needed, as quickly as possible.

Its almost as if the Militarised Industrial Complex has a vested interest in prolonging the war and maximising the destruction of Ukraine.

On the 5th of May 2023, the official website of President Zelensky of Ukraine announced that the contract for rebuilding his country, once the war was over, had been awarded to…..BlackRock.

I know it sounds implausible. You couldn't make it up.

It's not made up!