*** Official Putin Started Shootin' Thread ***

[MadMojoMonkey]

8 nations are now saying it's genocide.
Many others are saying, "it has all the hallmarks of genocide, but we don't have enough information to say it crosses the line, yet."

The dominant rhetoric in Russia is that of genocide, though pundit rhetoric and political rhetoric are not often indicative of what's happening in military operations.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, at least put duck on the list of things it probably is.


Putin still threatening nukes every time Ukraine receives more foreign aid.

"Let me keep killing you or I'll kill you."
-Putin

[OngBonga]

I also don't believe Putin is going to use nukes. And certainly not strategic nukes.

idk if you're aware of the terms so to quickly define -

strategic nukes - the ones nobody ever wants to use, long range world enders.
tactical nukes - small nukes designed to achieve a battlefield objective.

Strategic nukes are off the table. Nobody wants to use them. That is guaranteed to get a nuclear reaction from NATO. One strategic nuke will quickly be followed by lots and it's game over.

Tactical nukes are different. Who knows how NATO responds to a battlefield nuke? Or China for that matter? This is a gamble Putin *might* take if he's losing the war, because it doesn't guarantee a nuclear response. But we enter uncharted territory, and strategic nukes might be on the table in this world. It could get to the point where one geopolitical incident could trigger it. We're a long way from there right now though. We're not going to have a strategic nuke exchange overnight. A tactical nuke is almost certainly going to be the first nuclear escalation, if it were to happen.

[OngBonga]

So with that in mind, anything Putin says that implies the UK, EU or USA are a nuclear target is nothing but sabre rattling. It's simply not going to happen before a severe battlefield escalation and a severe deterioration in geopolitical relations, even considering how bad they already are.

And if Putin were to press the button, it would be the last act of a madman. He knows it's suicide. He could just put a gun to his head and save humanity the horror. It at least goes through a man's mind before he nukes a major city, right? You think "do I really want to leave this legacy?".

Full scale global nuclear war doesn't really worry me, even in this geopolitical climate. Nobody wins, and everybody knows it. More chance that madman in Korea uses a strategic nuke, and even that is a near zero probability.

idk if anyone is mad enough to use a tactical nuke. If and when it happens it's a new world we're living in, that much is for sure.