Finland & Sweden, and NATO membership.

[agricola]

Not the case in Salisbury.

It wasn't, but there was more of a reaction to that.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

It wasn't, but there was more of a reaction to that.

Also, let's not pretend the UK doesn't engage in dirty tricks abroad - and is chums with others who do so regularly: Saudi Arabia and Israel, for starters.

 

[maomao]

Nukes on the UK means the end of Putin and his cronies around him. They know that, presumably they don’t want it.

He's got a bunker. A big palatial bunker. He's also wanted for war crimes throughout the world; no more yachts, no more hanging out with Pam Anderson. I don't think he's likely to do it now, but in a few months, or a couple of years, when things are closing in on him and even the Russians are looking to get rid of him? Why not? Look at what the Nazis did in their bunker. I'm pretty sure they would have chosen Armageddon given the option. He certainly won't be avoiding it because if the value he places on human life.

 

[A380]

Also, let's not pretend the UK doesn't engage in dirty tricks abroad - and is chums with others who do so regularly: Saudi Arabia and Israel, for starters.

We conduct legally audacious activities to get upstream of the problem overseas.
You engage in dirty tricks abroad.
They murder people on our streets.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

He's got a bunker. A big palatial bunker. He's also wanted for war crimes throughout the world; no more yachts, no more hanging out with Pam Anderson. I don't think he's likely to do it now, but in a few months, or a couple of years, when things are closing in on him and even the Russians are looking to get rid of him? Why not? Look at what the Nazis did in their bunker. I'm pretty sure they would have chosen Armageddon given the option. He certainly won't be avoiding it because if the value he places on human life.

I get that. But he can’t launch the thing himself. It involves a team of folk willing to carry out his orders who aren’t in his cosy bunker and who will face the consequences that he won’t.

 

[cupid_stunt]

He's got a bunker. A big palatial bunker. He's also wanted for war crimes throughout the world; no more yachts, no more hanging out with Pam Anderson. I don't think he's likely to do it now, but in a few months, or a couple of years, when things are closing in on him and even the Russians are looking to get rid of him? Why not? Look at what the Nazis did in their bunker. I'm pretty sure they would have chosen Armageddon given the option. He certainly won't be avoiding it because if the value he places on human life.

Putin can't just launch a nuclear attack himself, he doesn't have a big red button on his desk.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Even if he could get both the Defence Minister and the Chief of Staff to agree to order such an attack, he still needs generals mad enough to carry out the order, rather than put a bullet in his head.

 

[maomao]

Putin can't just launch a nuclear attack, he doesn't have a big red button on his desk.

I'm aware of that (though he has taken to being pictured with a US style nuclear football). That doesn't mean he couldn't escalate things to that position by increasingly risky attacks.

 

[spitfire]

Putin can't just launch a nuclear attack himself, he doesn't have a big red button on his desk.

Yes I do.

 

[spitfire]

Ah bollox. Not again.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Plus I reckon those who prop him up are eager to get back to the game of making untold riches. A scorched earth doesn’t really deliver that.

 

[maomao]

Well why not do the no-fly zone thing then? It's certainly not fear of Russia's conventional air power.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Well why not do the no-fly zone thing then? It's certainly not fear of Russia's conventional air power.

Because that is asking for WW3.

 

[maomao]

Because that is asking for WW3.

But you've just said that would never happen.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

But you've just said that would never happen.

Errr, where? I said Putin successfully pushing the button would have consequences that the Russians may not desire.
NATO directly entering the war would be seen as aggression not defensive and probably draw in other nations in support of Putin.

 

[maomao]

Errr, where? I said Putin successfully pushing the button would have consequences that the Russians may not desire.
NATO directly entering the war would be seen as aggression not defensive and probably draw in other nations in support of Putin.

I'm getting you mixed up with the other fella.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

I'm getting you mixed up with the other fella.

Fair enough.

 

[Dystopiary]

I mean obviously we can't be certain, but I'd think it unlikely that he'd be happy to let his family die in a nuclear war. He's got two adult daughters, at least two grandchildren, and young children with Alina Kabaeva. It'd be pretty difficult to gather them all together in his bunker at short notice, and they're not going to want to sit it out in there for ages on the off-chance. It might be quite a nice bunker as bunkers go, but it's not going to come close to the kind of lifestyle the Putin family will be used to.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

I mean obviously we can't be certain, but I'd think it unlikely that he'd be happy to let his family die in a nuclear war. He's got two adult daughters, at least two grandchildren, and young children with Alina Kabaeva. It'd be pretty difficult to gather them all together in his bunker at short notice, and they're not going to want to sit it out in there for ages on the off-chance. It might be quite a nice bunker as bunkers go, but it's not going to come close to the kind of lifestyle the Putin family will be used to.

I think they're mostly all settled abroad. So it isn't his own family who'll get the fallout (pun not really intended, just a lucky coincidence).

 

[Dystopiary]

I think they're mostly all settled abroad. So it isn't his own family who'll get the fallout (pun not really intended, just a lucky coincidence).

I think that's true, at least one daughter lives abroad.

 

[xenon]

As bluescreen and maomao say, having a societal wide civil defence ethos means that you tend to not just think about firey death from the sky, but you think about flooding, and wildfire, and pandemics, and how to avoid and mitigate them.

I also think that the Nordic states societal cohesion, and lower inequalility - economic, health, education etc.. is not unrelated to their 'we look after everyone, everyone looked after us' attitude to civil defence.

We have much to learn from them.

Just catching up with this thread.

And yeah, I agree.

As an aside, after the floods in 2007 IIRC, round Gloucestershire way, and the subsequent cutting of mains water for those poor sods for some time, I seriously thought about buying water purification tablets and a couple of gerry cans... I mean, I haven't, cos storing the cans would be a PITA in this flat.

 

[xenon]

TBF neither of those was a fundamental threat to their security, nor was 2014. The Soviets (and others) assassinated defectors relatively frequently all over the place, and as long as it was only defectors dying it could be tolerated (to an extent). Them nabbing pro-Russian bits of other countries also wasn't that unusual.

With this though, I think its much more about the chat on Russian TV, Parliament and other places and especially the government denials beforehand (diplomatic denials rather than those in the Press). Everyone (especially the Finns) understood that the post-WW2 Soviets wouldn't clobber you as long as you didn't do X, Y and Z, and of course that was a strong incentive not to do whatever that was. If they are going to clobber you anyway (and for no real reason) there is much less incentive not to do that.

Another tactical master stroke by Putin. Complain about the Nato curious desires of your neighbours for years, despite not much moving on that front in recent times. Then do the one thing that's almost certainly going to have your neighbours rushing to sign up. This surely can't be lost on any half sane members of the regeme.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Another tactical master stroke by Putin. Complain about the Nato curious desires of your neighbours for years, despite not much moving on that front in recent times. Then do the one thing that's almost certainly going to have your neighbours rushing to sign up. This surely can't be lost on any half sane members of the regeme.

It's bollocks anyway, of course. Nobody, least of all Putin, thinks NATO is going to invade Russia. This is nothing to do with security and everything to do with power.

 

[xenon]

It's bollocks anyway, of course. Nobody, least of all Putin, thinks NATO is going to invade Russia. This is nothing to do with security and everything to do with power.

Yep. Spheres of influence, Russia being a top player in global politics etc.

Obviously no one since Hitler has thought invading Russia a remotely sensible thing to do....

 

[keybored]

I get that. But he can’t launch the thing himself. It involves a team of folk willing to carry out his orders who aren’t in his cosy bunker and who will face the consequences that he won’t.

Putin can't just launch a nuclear attack himself, he doesn't have a big red button on his desk.

Does everybody really believe this though? Like he is adhering to some Fair Play Rulebook of M.A.D. where x number of people have to agree to do it? Or like in the films, where several generals in big hats all have fancy keys in briefcases handcuffed to their wrists and they all have to turn them at the same time with grave expressions on their faces?

Fat chance, he would have bypassed all that bollocks years ago and anyone who raised objections is now counting trees in Siberia.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Does everybody really believe this though? Like he is adhering to some Fair Play Rulebook of M.A.D. where x number of people have to agree to do it? Or like in the films, where several generals in big hats all have fancy keys in briefcases handcuffed to their wrists and they all have to turn them at the same time with grave expressions on their faces?

Fat chance, he would have bypassed all that bollocks years ago and anyone who raised objections is now counting trees in Siberia.

You actually think launching a nuke can be done from an Xbox controller? Or that it might need removing from storage and taken to launch facilities by other people who aren’t Putin?

 

[emanymton]

You actually think launching a nuke can be done from an Xbox controller? Or that it might need removing from storage and taken to launch facilities by other people who aren’t Putin?

Well I for one have no idea just how many people are needed to launch a nuclear attack or what sort of nutters Putin might have put in those positions.

But there are a lot of points of escalation before things even get close to that being a possibility in my opinion. I mean they have not even called this a war yet.

 

[maomao]

You actually think launching a nuke can be done from an Xbox controller? Or that it might need removing from storage and taken to launch facilities by other people who aren’t Putin?

The Topols are mobile and can be launched from anywhere. The submarines are also permanently out and about with live nukes (like the UK ones). Not sure how the Russian silos work but the US ones are in a permanent state of readiness. They were designed with solid fuel tanks to minimise maintenance. Warheads need to be kept 'fresh' but it's a six year cycle and stuff should be being refreshed and replaced on a regular basis.

 

[keybored]

You actually think launching a nuke can be done from an Xbox controller? Or that it might need removing from storage and taken to launch facilities by other people who aren’t Putin?

Don't be daft. There's probably an app for that.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

The Topols are mobile and can be launched from anywhere. The submarines are also permanently out and about with live nukes (like the UK ones). Not sure how the Russian silos work but the US ones are in a permanent state of readiness. They were designed with solid fuel tanks to minimise maintenance. Warheads need to be kept 'fresh' but it's a six year cycle and stuff should be being refreshed and replaced on a regular basis.

This is an interesting article and especially this quote:

The US says it is monitoring the situation closely.
It has an extensive intelligence gathering machine to watch Russian nuclear activity - for instance whether tactical weapons are being moved out of storage, or if there is any change in behaviour at launch sites.
So far, they say they have not seen any significant changes.

Could Russia use tactical nuclear weapons? - BBC News

Russia's nuclear weapons are 'combat ready', raising fears they could be used on the battlefield.

www.bbc.com