“because the Russian response of jacking up interest rates was going to kill the US short positions”
Which was exactly the point...
Now, I wonder WHO was at risk of losing a ton of money by having to cover those shorts??
There is no point in any of this. Both sides are run by cronies. The US just halted trade to save US cronies. Russia jacked up rates to save Russian cronies. In the end the world will lose as now European Banks are starting to fail.