Interesting sequence of events that came through my newsfeed tonight. #Russia 's Gazprom losing money hand over fist; #Putin pissed at #China for not paying enough for natural gas; comprehensive mutual benefit talks between Russia & #Iran break off; more Russian refineries up in flames; NASA spots a huge fire in Crimea; missiles fired from the Russian side of the #Ukraine border have been less frequent.

Kinda adds up to Putin looking progressively weaker, especially since he hasn't come even close to conquering Ukraine yet and when he goes to other nations for deals, he's looking less like a strong ally and more like a raggedy beggar.