Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Part 5

Sandra Harris2 said:How morbid you all are tonight... 🕺
Go outside and look at the supermoon instead of just tossing nukes around here for fun 😢

Lipoto, I'm actually out on the balcony right now—sipping on another Stella Ross, basically a Heineken in disguise—but I haven't spotted it yet.

dustytiger8 said:Where did she go after Chernobyl!?

Back then, Belarus took the brunt of it. But that’s always subject to the weather patterns and wind direction. Ukraine is simply too close to be playing those kinds of games.

A Russian opposition politician faces a potential 10-year prison sentence for speaking out against the war in Ukraine.

A Moscow court ordered Ilya Yashin, a prominent Russian opposition politician, to be kept in custody for two months after he was accused on Wednesday of spreading False Information about The Russian Army, a charge that carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Mr. Yashin, a longtime ally of the imprisoned opposition leader Alexei A. Navalny, had been one of the few opposition activists still free in Russia after many Kremlin critics Had fled The country or were put behind bars since The invasion of Ukraine.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/07...smid=url-share

Has anyone else noticed the striking silence from an anti-imperialist and freedom-of-speech advocate like Pilger regarding the fate of this opponent to Russian anti-imperialism? Perhaps he exhausted all his tears over Assange, or maybe he was simply too preoccupied with his recent ramblings on the South China Morning Post concerning Ukrainian propaganda. Is it not telling how he suddenly "remembered" that Ukrainians operate at such a high level of propaganda that they could effortlessly sell a story about Russian chemical weapons, while simultaneously tossing unproven Russian claims about bio-labs—claims that suggested Ukrainians wanted to wipe out all Russians on the planet—straight into the memory hole? Even an independent journalist joined this chorus by stating we feel no empathy whatsoever for the wretched Russian soldiers, which serves as little more than a confirmation that the South China Morning Post has devolved into nothing more than Chinese propaganda trash.



I felt a genuine sense of nausea the other day when I discovered that Pilger's shameless propaganda piece, The Coming War on China, is now available to stream on Netflix. Honestly, even Goebbels would have found it embarrassing.

Anthony Hill5 said:A Russian opposition politician faces a potential 10-year prison sentence for speaking out against the war in Ukraine.

A Moscow court ordered Ilya Yashin, a prominent Russian opposition politician, to be kept in custody for two months after he was accused on Wednesday of spreading False Information about The Russian Army, a charge that carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Mr. Yashin, a longtime ally of the imprisoned opposition leader Alexei A. Navalny, had been one of the few opposition activists still free in Russia after many Kremlin critics Had fled The country or were put behind bars since The invasion of Ukraine.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/07...smid=url-share

Has anyone else noticed the striking silence from an anti-imperialist and freedom-of-speech advocate like Pilger regarding the fate of this opponent to Russian anti-imperialism? Perhaps he exhausted all his tears over Assange, or maybe he was simply too preoccupied with his recent ramblings on the South China Morning Post concerning Ukrainian propaganda. Is it not telling how he suddenly "remembered" that Ukrainians operate at such a high level of propaganda that they could effortlessly sell a story about Russian chemical weapons, while simultaneously tossing unproven Russian claims about bio-labs—claims that suggested Ukrainians wanted to wipe out all Russians on the planet—straight into the memory hole? Even an independent journalist joined this chorus by stating we feel no empathy whatsoever for the wretched Russian soldiers, which serves as little more than a confirmation that the South China Morning Post has devolved into nothing more than Chinese propaganda trash.

I felt a genuine sense of nausea the other day when I discovered that Pilger's shameless propaganda piece, The Coming War on China, is now available to stream on Netflix. Honestly, even Goebbels would have found it embarrassing.

Thanks for the heads up 👍

darkdriver said:Thanks for the heads up 👍

I can't help but wonder what a real war would actually look like... especially when you consider that the weaponry Russia is rolling out is absolute garbage compared to what’s being manufactured in China right now. 🤣

darkdriver said:Lipoto, I'm actually out on the balcony right now—sipping on another Stella Ross, basically a Heineken in disguise—but I haven't spotted it yet.

☕just keep holding those beers and stay out on the balcony. honestly, breathing in some smoggy air is way better than stressing over military strategy or targets, ☕why even bother with the useless stuff... you actually get a better view from the balcony when those NATO jets fly from Avian toward Ukraine to scout targets so the Ukrainians know exactly what to hit...🙂>

Christian Torres3 said:So then, why hasn't Putin dropped a tactical nuke yet? Why might it happen in a week or a month instead of today? Where exactly is this "red line" supposed to be?

Partly joking and partly serious, I suspect one of the primary reasons is simply that we've witnessed enough Russian missiles falling out of the sky like ripe fruit due to sheer technical failure; it wouldn't be particularly wise to trigger a nuclear event right at the launch site.

Jesse Sanchez4 said:Partly joking and partly serious, I suspect one of the primary reasons is simply that we've witnessed enough Russian missiles falling out of the sky like ripe fruit due to sheer technical failure; it wouldn't be particularly wise to trigger a nuclear event right at the launch site.

Not to mention a sudden shift in wind that could blow a radioactive cloud directly over Russia and Belarus.

Donna Wells2 said:Not to mention a sudden shift in wind that could blow a radioactive cloud directly over Russia and Belarus.

If that’s the case, how did the Chernobyl cloud end up drifting all the way to Sweden and even across our neck of the woods here in America?

The math is actually pretty straightforward, even when you throw in those "if" variables... "if winds blow in a easterly direction...."

Just like the D-Day landings in Normandy depended entirely on the weather forecast, isn't it the exact same logic we have to apply to a potential tactical nuke strike? It's almost as if we'd say: let's pull the trigger once we get a heavy easterly breeze blowing from a Siberian anticyclone...

brightheron64 said:If that’s the case, how did the Chernobyl cloud end up drifting all the way to Sweden and even across our neck of the woods here in America?

The math is actually pretty straightforward, even when you throw in those "if" variables... "if winds blow in a easterly direction...."

Just like the D-Day landings in Normandy depended entirely on the weather forecast, isn't it the exact same logic we have to apply to a potential tactical nuke strike? It's almost as if we'd say: let's pull the trigger once we get a heavy easterly breeze blowing from a Siberian anticyclone...

Quoting "Wikipedia"

"The radioactivity dispersed by the wind primarily impacted the health of residents in neighboring northern Belarus, but also affected the far northern regions of Ukraine and the southwestern areas of Russia, whose border was also in close proximity. The clouds of radioactive dust finally stalled over Scandinavia in the northern parts of Europe. Both direct and indirect consequences of radiation exposure were felt by up to 5 million people. Health problems for a large number of people persist to this day, and a particular issue remains the quality of environmental cleanup in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear power plant."

By the way, it took five days for the cloud to reach America... and it was much less intense than what happened in the USSR.

Jesse Sanchez4 said:Partly joking and partly serious, I suspect one of the primary reasons is simply that we've witnessed enough Russian missiles falling out of the sky like ripe fruit due to sheer technical failure; it wouldn't be particularly wise to trigger a nuclear event right at the launch site.

Tactical nukes are meant for high-priority targets on the front lines. But let's be real, the Ukrainians have spread their military assets and supply depots all over the place—it's smart, really. It makes hitting them much easier with cruise missiles instead. If, for instance, the Russians tried using nukes during a massive Ukrainian push toward Kherson, they'd have to deploy multiple smaller warheads just to cover such a wide area. And then you run into the fallout problem. You can't exactly control where that radioactive dust drifts when the Ukrainians are the ones initiating the attack; the attacker dictates the timing, which means you're at the mercy of whatever the weather decides to do.
The Russians could potentially use strategic bombs to, say, blockade Kyiv.
But if they did that, they'd be looking at total global isolation. We'd also be staring down the possibility of NATO providing nuclear weapons to the Ukrainians.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Tactical nukes are meant for high-priority targets on the front lines. But let's be real, the Ukrainians have spread their military assets and supply depots all over the place—it's smart, really. It makes hitting them much easier with cruise missiles instead. If, for instance, the Russians tried using nukes during a massive Ukrainian push toward Kherson, they'd have to deploy multiple smaller warheads just to cover such a wide area. And then you run into the fallout problem. You can't exactly control where that radioactive dust drifts when the Ukrainians are the ones initiating the attack; the attacker dictates the timing, which means you're at the mercy of whatever the weather decides to do.
The Russians could potentially use strategic bombs to, say, blockade Kyiv.
But if they did that, they'd be looking at total global isolation. We'd also be staring down the possibility of NATO providing nuclear weapons to the Ukrainians.

And honestly, Ukraine has enough uranium to spread it all over somewhere like Moscow. It wouldn't be a direct strike, but it would be enough to make sure nobody can live there anymore.
It's not that simple, though. You don't really gain anything by using a nuclear strike (especially not in terms of conquering territory), but you definitely lose everything through mass retaliation.

dustyfalcon122 said:And honestly, Ukraine has enough uranium to spread it all over somewhere like Moscow. It wouldn't be a direct strike, but it would be enough to make sure nobody can live there anymore.
It's not that simple, though. You don't really gain anything by using a nuclear strike (especially not in terms of conquering territory), but you definitely lose everything through mass retaliation.

There are actually plenty of isotopes way worse than uranium that you could use to make dirty bombs and drop them on Moscow or Pittsburgh as payback. Just tiny little conventional explosions, but they'd release catastrophic amounts of beta and gamma radiation.

Donna Wells2 said:Quoting "Wikipedia"

"The radioactivity dispersed by the wind primarily impacted the health of residents in neighboring northern Belarus, but also affected the far northern regions of Ukraine and the southwestern areas of Russia, whose border was also in close proximity. The clouds of radioactive dust finally stalled over Scandinavia in the northern parts of Europe. Both direct and indirect consequences of radiation exposure were felt by up to 5 million people. Health problems for a large number of people persist to this day, and a particular issue remains the quality of environmental cleanup in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear power plant."

By the way, it took five days for the cloud to reach America... and it was much less intense than what happened in the USSR.

This isn't really the main point of our discussion, but I feel compelled to clarify because it seems many people are missing a fundamental distinction: a nuclear bomb and a nuclear power plant accident are two entirely different beasts.
With the former, the primary objective is a massive explosion designed to cause widespread devastation and, if possible, total annihilation within a specific radius; the actual amount of radioactivity released is, relatively speaking, quite small.
With the latter, an explosion does occur—it’s true—but it’s something else entirely (in the case of Chernobyl, it was essentially a steam explosion, let's not get bogged down in the technical minutiae), and while the explosion itself is relatively contained—only one person actually died directly from the blast at Chernobyl—the volume of radioactivity released is staggering because there is such a massive amount of radioactive material sitting right there in the reactor.
Chernobyl unleashed a mountain of radioactivity because the fire and the continuous release of particles into the atmosphere raged on for nearly two weeks. A nuclear bomb, particularly a tactical one, would have a much smaller impact in that regard, and the contamination would likely be localized.
However, you still have the issue of that local radioactive fallout, which wouldn't just vanish in a couple of weeks. If you are planning on sending your troops in after a tactical nuclear strike, I certainly wouldn't believe it could be done without some serious risk to them.

It’s worth noting how those supposedly "precision" Russian missiles just leveled apartment buildings in Vinnytsia, leaving two civilians dead in their wake.

Russian Rockets hit The City of Vinnytsia this Morning. One of The Three Rockets Fell near a new maternity hospital
Six people injured, two dead—including a young child—according to the head of the National Police. They're still working on the final casualty count.
https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/...BhDgNZQcaLnUxg

It feels like Russia's math is basically: "You have more apartment buildings than we have warehouses."

Christian Torres3 said:It’s worth noting how those supposedly "precision" Russian missiles just leveled apartment buildings in Vinnytsia, leaving two civilians dead in their wake.

Russian Rockets hit The City of Vinnytsia this Morning. One of The Three Rockets Fell near a new maternity hospital
Six people injured, two dead—including a young child—according to the head of the National Police. They're still working on the final casualty count.
https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/...BhDgNZQcaLnUxg

It feels like Russia's math is basically: "You have more apartment buildings than we have warehouses."

One should also keep in mind that the city of Vinnytsia is situated roughly 249 miles from the nearest front line.
Such reckless shelling of civilian targets deep within the rear is essentially what would happen if Americans were to launch rocket attacks against Voronjez, Volgograd, or even Rostov.

Christian Torres3 said:It’s worth noting how those supposedly "precision" Russian missiles just leveled apartment buildings in Vinnytsia, leaving two civilians dead in their wake.

Russian Rockets hit The City of Vinnytsia this Morning. One of The Three Rockets Fell near a new maternity hospital
Six people injured, two dead—including a young child—according to the head of the National Police. They're still working on the final casualty count.
https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/...BhDgNZQcaLnUxg

It feels like Russia's math is basically: "You have more apartment buildings than we have warehouses."

Sadly, the death toll has already climbed to 12.
There was at least one baby in a stroller among them.
The photos are all over Twitter.

The Kremlin's creepy "quiet" war: They're intentionally ripping kids away from their parents and targeting any Ukrainians who don't fall in line.

According to the early reports coming in, three Russian rockets slammed into an office building. The strikes also hit the Officers' Club and some nearby apartment complexes, according to the Ukrainian news outlet Pravda.

Honestly, I’d say they were just trying to thin out the ranks of high-ranking Officers a bit more, especially considering how many of their own have been lost so far.

Given how much they've missed the mark lately, I can't say I'm surprised by the final result.

brightheron64 said:If that’s the case, how did the Chernobyl cloud end up drifting all the way to Sweden and even across our neck of the woods here in America?

The math is actually pretty straightforward, even when you throw in those "if" variables... "if winds blow in a easterly direction...."

Just like the D-Day landings in Normandy depended entirely on the weather forecast, isn't it the exact same logic we have to apply to a potential tactical nuke strike? It's almost as if we'd say: let's pull the trigger once we get a heavy easterly breeze blowing from a Siberian anticyclone...

Right, because when Russia drops bombs on Ukraine, they apparently have a steady easterly breeze blowing for a year straight. That’s just how those bombs work.