The Russian Invasion of the Ukraine.

[Beelzebuddy]

On another subject - this kills nuclear nonproliferation. Iraq, Libya, and now Ukraine gave up their nuclear programs and then suffered invasion. Iran and North Korea kept their nuclear programs and have not suffered the same fate. A whole bunch of nations will now see this as a mandate to get nukes. Nukes = survival.

Yep. All that denuclearization work went right out the window. Peace and love and all that jazz means diddly when the dictator next door wants a piece of you and the other signatories of your denuclearization agreements are unwilling to get involved.

 

[carlosy]

Best case scenario. Putin is forced to cave in and pull out, as he and his wealthy pals are crippled by sanctions and Ukraine has the best reason to join NATO.

Really a best case?
I seriously doubt Putin will do anything but cave in. He could not bear to be seen that weak. Not by russian citizens, and especially not by himself. I fear he would rather bring it all down with him.

 

[Thermal]

I'll never understand the weird significance certain people place upon the price of gasoline.

When you have to drive a lot, it is the first and most direct effect of world events on your daily life and net worth, and a harbinger of what your life may be like soon when it expands to other petroleum related products.

I've had customers cancel construction projects when the price of plastic goods jumped 50%. Gas prices are barometer numero uno for a lot of work.

 

[dudalb]

Someone leaked US Intelligence's psychological analysis of Putin. Not comforitng reading. The terms "Irrational" "Paranois" and "Meglomaniac" were used.

 

[JoeMorgue]

As always fake pictures and videos are already hitting the web, with everything from video game and movie footage to totally unrelated footage of other military events and industrial disasters being passed along as "footage from the Ukraine."

https://gizmodo.com/10-photos-and-videos-from-russias-invasion-of-ukraine-t-1848586587

 

[dudalb]

As always fake pictures and videos are already hitting the web, with everything from video game and movie footage to totally unrelated footage of other military events and industrial disasters being passed along as "footage from the Ukraine."

https://gizmodo.com/10-photos-and-videos-from-russias-invasion-of-ukraine-t-1848586587

I sane piece of film swiped from the credits for one of the "Command and Conquer" games.

 

[dudalb]

FIghting around the Chernobly site, including one of the storage bunkers for radioactive waste. All it would take is one off target missile or artillery shell and you have a problem....

 

[sackett]

Any reliable news out of Russia? I'm thinking of public reactions to this famous victory.

 

[JoeMorgue]

After what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, civilian airliners aren't taking any chances, with the airs over Ukraine and the surrounding areas devoid of commercial air traffic

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-new...24-22-intl/h_0eed6c5cf1eb5b8db9e8f37d9b0aafdb

 

[TragicMonkey]

As always fake pictures and videos are already hitting the web, with everything from video game and movie footage to totally unrelated footage of other military events and industrial disasters being passed along as "footage from the Ukraine."

I saw one that was very convincing up to the point where Cad Bane showed up. That cast a smidgen of doubt.

 

[JoeMorgue]

I saw one that was very convincing up to the point where Cad Bane showed up. That cast a smidgen of doubt.

"I didn't even know Megatron knew Putin, much less worked for him."

 

[sackett]

Let's speak in simple terms. Do the western allies (I Jesus hope they're allied) have military options at this point? In the immediate future? In the current theater of war and only there?

Granted that war with Russian forces is not like war with ISIS or Serbia. But how long could they sustain an offensive that was met with sophisticated assaults?

 

[JoeMorgue]

Let's speak in simple terms. Do the western allies (I Jesus hope they're allied) have military options at this point? In the immediate future? In the current theater of war and only there?

Granted that war with Russian forces is not like war with ISIS or Serbia. But how long could they sustain an offensive that was met with sophisticated assaults?

I think Russia knows it has to win quick. It can't do sustained. Its stuff is simply not in that great of shape. Their only aircraft carrier can't even be out to sea doing literally nothing without breaking down. They are in the absolute worst place for a war of attrition.

But they can do a lot of damage in the short-mid term and I'm scared of what happens when they run out of options.

 

[lobosrul5]

Let's speak in simple terms. Do the western allies (I Jesus hope they're allied) have military options at this point? In the immediate future? In the current theater of war and only there?

Granted that war with Russian forces is not like war with ISIS or Serbia. But how long could they sustain an offensive that was met with sophisticated assaults?

Poland is the only NATO country that borders Ukraine, and doing some googling, no it does not sound like forces there are sufficient for an operation into Ukraine.

The US has, I believe, 1 brigade from the 82nd Airborne in Poland.

 

[plague311]

Let's speak in simple terms. Do the western allies (I Jesus hope they're allied) have military options at this point? In the immediate future? In the current theater of war and only there?

Granted that war with Russian forces is not like war with ISIS or Serbia. But how long could they sustain an offensive that was met with sophisticated assaults?

With the sheer amount of technological options available, do they even bother physically attacking them at all? Obviously the Russians, Chinese and Americans have been messing with each others network infrastructure for awhile, but is there something other than boots on the ground we can do?

Russia DDOS'ing Ukraine's infrastructure sites, I say to start there with Russia. Impose the harshest, most extreme possible sanctions, hit their technology infrastructure, and make life a living hell. We have the means to do it, and granted Russia has the means to do it back, but the US has the ability to endure more than Ukraine.

 

[JoeMorgue]

Multiple sources report further sanctions from the US and EU, including possibly barring Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication which would effectively cut them off entirely from the rest of the world's financial and banking systems, coming before the end of the day.

 

[plague311]

Multiple sources report further sanctions from the US and EU, including possibly barring Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication which would effectively cut them off entirely from the rest of the world's financial and banking systems, coming before the end of the day.

I wonder if Australia will escalate their sanctions as well. Who else can we get to jump in?

 

[JoeMorgue]

As I understand it (international finances being a tad complicated obviously) if the SWITCH banking system killswitch is activated that's it, Russia's economy might as well be on another planet for all the connection it will have with anyone elses.

 

[shemp]

I notice that certain Putin fanboys are conspicuous by their absence. Perhaps they haven't gotten their talking points sent to them yet.

 

[trustbutverify]

Really a best case?
I seriously doubt Putin will do anything but cave in. He could not bear to be seen that weak. Not by russian citizens, and especially not by himself. I fear he would rather bring it all down with him.

If he had just come out of the closet twenty years ago, all of this might have been avoided.