January 18, 2022 - (Gold Market Wire) - The spectre of military conflict in Ukraine has been heightened by the news today that the United Kingdom will be selling anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, ostensibly for use in any military engagement with Russia. This is a serious escalation, and Crude Oil has taken the signal and run with it.

While some will like to speculate on such mundane questions like "how high can we go," we prefer to ask, "how the hell will we ever come down - short of the ending of the most serious of military stand-offs." Russia is not going to back down over Ukraine, and if it decides to join NATO, it will be neutralised, one way or another. NATO's courtship of Ukraine, or intimations of said 'courtship' is the strategic equivalent, of Russia doing the same to Greece.

It will be noted, in this context, that during the financial crisis (a decade or so ago) which saw Greece financially "restricted and haircut" by a German led EU, Greece went on a financial/diplomatic mission to Russia to seek financial sustenance. They needed to back-stop their financial system to avoid depositor bail-ins. Russia first kept that mission waiting interminably for an audience, after which it was promptly sent packing by Moscow. There was no way Moscow was going to foster such an encroachment on the financial, diplomatic and security considerations of the Eastern Mediterranean...and create disruptions. For those who fail to see the standard such diplomacy, we refer you the Mssr. Merschimer on YouTube for an elucidation of why the current NATO advance towards Ukraine is never, going to be tolerated by Moscow.

The situation is aggravated and getting worse. Without resolution, Crude Oil is only going higher.