Russia has practiced delivering a retaliatory nuclear strike

[Anna]

soar looser

I agree with you that he's a soar loser albeit for a different reason. He should have done that earlier, in 2022. I doubt it will change the situation on the front line now. In spite of all that, we the Poles, applaud this decision. I think most of the EU leaders support that too.

It doesn't look like bravery though. I guess if Democrats had won this election, they would continue pussyfooting around Putin. It's easier to take the risk if you already have nothing to lose.

As for Putin's usual threats, I wonder how the guy who was freaking out about Covid has the balls to start a nuclear war. Perhaps, I will wait and wrap my little head around that when that ever happens. If I have enough time, that is.

[UltraBudgie]

I doubt it will change the situation on the front line now.

I read that there's two reasons for this now, first to address North Korean forces who may be there and give them a bit of a bloody nose, and second to help hold at least a little of the Russian territory in the Kursk region that Ukraine gained this summer, the yellow bit on this map:



That seems to be the only leverage that Ukraine might have to bring Putin to the negotiating table, and I could understand why they would want to keep it. Obviously, Russia is going to keep its captured territory, but a negotiated surrender (they won't call it that) will help keep Zelensky away from the meat hook when remaining troops return. He's already thrown most of the potential domestic dissent into the grinder, so the inevitable civil war should be somewhat brief and he might actually be able to flee before Europe steps in and does their white knight thing in act III.

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/...strictions

[CCoburn]

If the preventative maintenance on the majority of Putins' nuclear arsenal is anything like what I was receiving on my vehicles pre-2022 then I don't think there's much to worry about.

And now with the introduction(or allowance) of these long range strikes inside Russia (which is insane) the situation for Mr. Putin could be coming to a head now as nuclear capable sites would likely be targeted, so he could begin (even if only gradually) to lose the ability to act on his threats – a culminating of try to use 'em or lose 'em.

I don't think Putin wants nuclear war though (obviously) as he is continually poked and prodded into a corner. The figurative guy with the dyno-vest, finger on the button, and enough TNT to blow up the world...

[LightAngel]

Why Biden? WHY?

Nobody will win if this war escalates, and innocent people will pay the price because most of our leaders are corrupted, and they also do not have the talent needed to create peace.

You need a good IQ to be a peacemaker.

We do not want war, we want peace.

We want to live in peace with each other and nature.

Stop hurting our beautiful home!

[Sirius]

Indeed, seems grim.

[theshadowknows]

Putin bet his house of cards on the war in Ukraine and restoring the Russian Empire. Will Putin's ambitions test if Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) still holds weight? The answer to that question lies in Ukraine's war outcome and Putin's subsequent moves.

If MAD fails, WW3, with or without a limited nuclear exchange, is highly likely.

Putin doesn't seem to worry about the US as a nuclear threat anymore. Considering not only his constant nuclear saber rattling, but the continued Russian advancements of nuclear weapons despite numerous treaties that only the US abides by. The Status-6 Oceanic Multipurpose System is a great example of that. I don't think we even have a weapon yielding higher than 1.5 MT in the US arsenal anymore, and most if not all of our old arsenal has been scrapped and repurposed.

[UltraBudgie]

Putin doesn't seem to worry about the US as a nuclear threat anymore.

Perhaps he's been in power so long that he's living on a flat earth where nuclear weapons aren't real and everything is a psyop. I wonder about the people around Trump, sometimes.

[Sirius]

Looks like the ATACMS was launched.

[CCoburn]

Something's going to have to give here pretty soon. One of the things that bothers me a little with all of this is that either side would be seriously considering a bunker-down scenario if worst comes to worst.

The irony of a species evolving itself out of existence.

[Maxmars]

Looks like the ATACMS was launched.

 I had understood that Russia reported they had intercepted 5 of the 6 missiles launched...

Given that kind of effectiveness, would Russia actually be justified to say... "Now it's nuke time!"

I wish I were more convinced that this war wasn't a cash grab....