Putin has placed his nuclear forces on advanced alert. This is a hollow threat. The US has over 3,000 warheads ready for immediate launch, both France and England have over 200 nuclear weapons each ready for immediate launch. (in all cases the launch will have an impact in less than 30 minutes)
While I am no longer privy to a lot of nuclear secrets, I do know that the 7500 weapons we have in ready retirement could be made ready in days if not hours. They might not give the full blast, but a yield of 1 megaton is acceptable.
The use of nuclear weapons will not go well for any of us, Vlad should back down
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.What is target in Ukraine could be nukes that would advance Putin's campaign? Nuking anything else would bring reprisals, WWIII and certain death.
racocn8
Level 9
Feb 28, 2022
0
Battlefield weapons with low yields could destroy the cities with no resistance. Russia has a number of these low yield (less than 200 kilotons) weapons some as small as 100 tons of TNT equivalent. Trump allowed the proliferation of these weapons when he dissolved the intermediate range missile treaty with Russia.
@glennlab Using nukes, or chemical or biological weapons would incur a level of animus that would be seriously problematic for Putin and his war. It is a matter of bigotry, but gassing Ukrainians would be seen as considerably worse than gassing Syrians. Or not. Maybe it would be another Obama red line to be ignored?
A big problem with nukes is that they destroy and disperse hazardous chemicals which are commonly stored in cities (PCBs, Chlorine, ...) so the chemical fallout can cause problems different from the nuclear fallout (that may be more short-lived).
@racocn8 If he uses nukes, it would be an error of the magnitude of attacking Pearl Harbor, or of attacking the USSR during the winter. It might give a momentary victory, but result in long term defeat. The Russian nuclear forces have not been maintained as well as they were under the Soviet Empire and we could expect a high failure rate, but that would still lead to unacceptable losses.
Can special forces go in and get Putin ala movie, Air Force One??
Killtheskyfairy
Level 9
Feb 28, 2022
2
Not very likely
You're probably familiar with the old joke,"What's the definition of a tactical nuclear weapon weapon?" "One that lands in Germany" only now it's Ukraine. I think Putin might really view the eastward expansion of the western bloc as an existential threat and nukes as a battlefield option. As the west did in Germany, Korea and Vietnam. I don't expect it but if he does use them in Ukraine, I also doubt the west would invite a wider exchange.
Buttercup
Level 8
Feb 28, 2022
1
That is about as close to the actual definition as you could get. Tactical weapons are defined by their use, not their yield. The same b-61can be tactical delivered by a F-22 or strategic if delivered by a B-2 bomber. Russia has had in its inventory an array of tactical battlefield weapons that are highly mobile and can fire from as close as 25 miles from the advancing troops. They also posses an array of intermediate range missiles. Yields range from a low of 100 tons of TNT to 600 kilotons .
There is no way that Putin the Putrid will back down. It seems to me that he is hell bent on incorporating Ukraine into Russia, and if he does not get his way he is quite prepared to cause a nuclear holocaust.
That man is dangerously mad. He is no different to Pol Pot, Mao Zedong, General Pinochet, Joseph Stalin or Adolph Hitler.
anglophone
Level 9
Feb 28, 2022
5
Past behavior is the best indicator of future behavior so backing down is unlikely. Relying on him for a solution is unwise.
Presuming he's realized his miscalculation, he needs to be provided with a way out that allows him to save face. In exchange for a final settlement of the Ukraine issue, I wonder if he would accept the permanent surrender of the entire Trump family to dispose of however he pleases, no questions asked.
LovinLarge
Level 8
Feb 28, 2022
7
The trumps have been reliable allies and useful idiots for Putin - likely because trump owes Russia a ton of money. Putin would likely see trump as a better asset stationed in the US as in Russia.
@RussRAB Yeah, pretty sure we couldn't get any of that crime syndicate to volunteer to go anyway. On the upside, hopefully Trump's alliance with Putin is going to be enough to sink any political prospects he has.
@LovinLarge - I doubt trump has a viable possibility of reentering American politics short of heavey voter suppression and election corruption as Republicans have set themselves up to do with changes to state laws. Still, we seem to have Republicans - even if it's a minority - who are supporting Russia in their invasion of Ukraine. I would hope that these events would not only knock trump or trumps out of any political aspirations, but the larger part of the Republican party as well. Sadly, the political winds in America don't appear to be all that clear and a number of American had come to feel that a Putin style pseudo-democratic dictatorship under trump was desirable - hard to imagine, but reality just the same.
@RussRAB Agree 100%. Nicely stated. Keep up the good work!
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