According to analyst Elina Ribakova's assessment, what's really fueling Russia's ongoing conflict isn't economic calculation—it's pure geopolitics. Sure, the economic squeeze is real and painful. But here's the thing: that pressure alone won't be enough to bring Moscow to any negotiating table.

This matters for markets because when geopolitical strategy trumps economic rationality, it creates prolonged uncertainty. Traditional economic sanctions and financial pain, no matter how severe, lose their leverage when political objectives override market logic. For anyone watching global macro trends, this dynamic reshapes how we should think about conflict resolution timelines and their ripple effects across asset classes.