Biden declares Russia already lost

I think Putin will resort to nuclear war, but not using nuclear weapons in the ordinary sense of the word. I saw a news report that the Russians have already wired Ukraine's nuclear power plant, which is in Russian hands, with explosives. If true, the plan is obviously to blow it up, a Ukrainian Chernobyl, if and when Putin so orders.

 

A possibility but it would also be reckless, stupid, and shortsighted. The prevailing winds would carry a lot of radiation into Russia (not that he gives a shit about who it would kill). Maybe his idea of a buffer is an uninhabitable radioactive zone between Russia and points west.

 

IMO, the Russians have ZERO need to do anything other than chatter about nukes. They are strapped in and resolved, for years, to wage bloody conventional warfare.

 

Has there been another kind of Chernobyl?

 

False. Putin would be potentially exposing the Russian general population to nuclear contamination, not to mention contaminating hundreds of thousands of ethnic Russians who live around the plant currently. Recall that Chernobyl is actually in Ukraine, but 70% of its radioactive release settled in Belarus to the north. It's too large of a risk for Putin to blow up the plant when he has very little control over where the brunt of the contamination will settle.

 

Remember early in the war when people on this thread were chattering about the Russians purposefully staging another Chernobyl with ZPP ?

 

Well, we know Putin wouldn't do anything like that.

 

I think politically speaking, Putin would be very concerned about blowing up the plant and then having the contamination spill over the Russian border. The last thing he wants to do is give the Russian people another reason to oppose the war.

 

Our assessment: Putin is an unhinged madman sitting astride the largest nuclear arsenal in the world.

Our measured response: push! Push! PUSH!!!

 

Zelensky can't understand why NATO won't let Ukraine join it now so we can go straight into World War III. Wasn't he a comedian before he became president?

 

And a cross dresser.

 

I, for one, don't think Putin is unhinged or crazy. I've also assumed Russia has been pulling punches for whatever reason but less confident about that as time goes on - though I'm also very skeptical of anything I read on either side of this war.

 

If you’re skeptical of reportage on both sides that marks you as an outlier on this thread!

I believe that Putin is oh-so much more lucid than the Western heads who villainize him. But he is either playing 3D chess or he’s just risk-averse.

 

Sounds like we waged war on the Afghans with our own Wagners!

 

Maybe he's not, "I'll committ nuclear suicide" unhinged, but he is definitely "I am a Rus Demi-God!" mystic crazy.

I really doubt punches were pulled as much as that demi-God status combined with 20 years of the corruption of absolute power have reduced both his thinking and the effectiveness of the Russian beauracracy and military to rubble.

 

He would blame it on the west

 

I can’t for the life of me imagine why Putin would think poorly of the West.

*scratches head*

 

If he does, then we should consider that the exact same as if he used a nuclear weapon. And there is no way for Putin to do such a thing without it having an adverse effect outside of Ukraine including NATO nations. In short, that would be an act of war against NATO by Russia. Very important that Putin understands that before he gives the order.

 

Because of Russia’s invasion, NATO has a stronger unity and common purpose more than it has been in decades and more countries want in (exactly what Putin didn’t want). Russia is much weaker and getting weaker daily. Their military has been exposed as less formidable as expected. Russia economy is suffering from sanctions, and also because of a reduced labor base as 10s of thousands of men are fighting, are war casualties, or have fled the country. Right before the war Russia had a brain-drain as techies and brains fled (maybe we can snag them!). Russia just had an attempted mutiny.
Agree we can’t say “Ukraine won”, but in regards to Putin’s goals and Russia’s status before the war and now, Putin lost. Not even getting into Russia’s state sponsored atrocities on civilians and trafficking of Ukrainian children.

 

If Putin is lucid perhaps we should all be grateful ?