Looks like things have been taken to the next stage.
It seems that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europes largest nuclear power station was bombed.
The fires seem to have been contained and no radiation has been detected but is shows that nuclear is not off the table, even if it is "only" a power station.

My take is that Putin was surprised by the public support for Ukraine and the public pressure on Western governments for further sanctions (eg. the partial SWIFT exclusion). He knows he can't turn this around and the only way to "subdue" public opinion is by spreading fear. Attacking a building of a nuclear plant is exactly that: he want's public opinion to shift in a mode to pressure governments into a deal with Putin so he doesn't trigger a nuclear crisis.

Fear is the only "policy" tool the putinofils have and they will use in various shapes and forms on their own people, in the war against Ukraine and with us: in the West.

Well, if Putin´s policy is "Fear" then it´s bloody well working.

The worst part of it all is that if he wins Ukraine now, he will basically dictate Europe for a very long time. You will live with the fear that he will find a pretext to start yet another war, yet another local disaster.


They always interfered in other countries free elections (they did that in countries with an old democracy btw!!!!), have financed extremist parties in various countries (perhaps they should take a very close look into the mirror when talking about "de-nazification") but what you are going to see is far, far worse.

En plus, the British (and the other Western powers) should refrain from trading other countries at the big table of history, AGAIN.

This is a nightmare we're all in because compromises have been made all the way even when they weren't really necessary.

I find ît hard to see the logic of this statement. If Putin 'wins' the Ukraine conflict, which we all know he will militarily in some form, then he will anway be a pariah with an ever-weakening economy facing a galvanized West that will increase military spending and that has now woken up to the reality of its naive foreign policies.

If Putin wins this war, Russia loses in the long-term. The benefits of this conflict are nowhere near worth the trade-offs in terms of the wealth and influence they will lose on the world stage.

I genuinely fail to see how he will be "dictating" anything in Europe after all of this is done.

Keep an eye on Ventusky...he'll shit in his own nest first.

https://www.ventusky.com/?p=47;10;2&...erature-300hpa

It is really not that complicated, Chuff.
Because he will not stop here. He will continue to harass Nato states and EU in any way he can. And don't count on some assumption or wishful thinking that all this alliance against him will always stay as it is, there will be cracks in this alliance at one point or another because...business as usual.

Turkey for instance had a hard time to finally decide to join EU in adopting the same measures. Heck, Hungary had a hard time.

Turkey is not in the EU.

Fortunately, we are neither in the EU nor NATO!

Tom

Fire's out. Russians in control of plant. Reactor No. 1 is damaged.

I didn't imply that.

Turkey is in the Nato and that is enough to deal with as their geo-strategic interests don't always meet the rest of the members interests.

Of course it's complicated, lets not say silly things like how elementary all of this somehow is, when you and I have no idea what Putin is going to actually do next or how things are going to look in 2 months. You said "Putin will dictate Europe if he wins this war" and I am just responding with the view that this statement makes little logical sense when taking into account the problems he will soon be facing at home and economically and diplomatically. He is going to be facing civil unrest and a dramatically reduced war chest (funding) and his global influence is severely weakened now, including form his key strategic ally China who seem less than impressed with this action.

Will Putin influence how European policies and actions are shaped in the coming months? Definitely. Will he "dictate" Europe? Highly doubtful imo.

I agree. Except maybe for the civil unrest part. They keep on introducing draconian laws (yesterday: up to 15 years in prison for "spreading false information about the special operation") and will tighten their grip on media and internet. And many people are trying to leave before it is too late.

He is on time travel back to the 1970s.

Well, you said it yourself: the defense budget will double, or triple from now on. Look, take a country's public budget for instance. We used to spend what, like 2% tops on defence. From now on, and especially if he wins Ukraine, we will have to double or triple the amount and allot all these money to buying tanks and planes and what not. All these money, instead of going to doctors, nurses, social workers, teachers etc etc will go to the defence budgets. We won't focus on climate change or any other global issues because of the same reasons, the resources will go somewhere else.

This is just one example, I can come up with more. If Putin wins all the dictators around the globe will think "Oh, it is OK then to invade other countries and conquer them, nobody will stop you in the end".

If by "dictate" you think I referred to literally dictating, I guess there is some miscommunication here or something.

Let's put it in a simpler way: there will be long term effects that you and I are not even aware of for now..

yes it is more complicated than that. its easy to paint Putin as a James Bond Baddie, and frankly he doesn't do himself any favours but there are longer term strategic factors at play here. To be crystal clear, I am 100% against the invasion but to reduce it down to "its not complicated" and "harrasing NATO states" isn't correct.

The United States and Russia agreed on Feb. 3, 2021, to extend New START by five years, as allowed by the treaty text, until Feb. 5, 2026. So 13 months ago, Putin was still agreeing to arms limitation measures that go back, ultimately, to the Brezhnev years and SALT 1. What changed?

This is an interesting article: "Why John Mearsheimer Blames the U.S. for the Crisis in Ukraine."

For years, the political scientist has claimed that Putin’s aggression toward Ukraine is caused by Western intervention. Have recent events changed his mind?

https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and...sis-in-ukraine

Sorry greenmount,if my post sounds harsh, I value your input as an excellent poster, and please carry on!

Of course it is complicated, my choice of words was in response to chuff being...chuff.

Thank you for your appreciation btw, I also value different points of view and am usually open to readjusting my views when presented genuine or strong arguments. Or at least to give more thoughts on various issues.

Nuclear plants are designed to withstand literal bombing, so bad but not the worst.

But....there was a worry 7 years ago about the nuclear waste stored in open air near to the power plant. Waste is processed to make it less volatile, minimize air pollution. But, if waste containers were damaged, soil and water near the place will be polluted. https://www.theguardian.com/environm...ine-front-line

But #2 is that the plant generates a significant fraction of electrical power in Ukraine, it's an strategic asset. Even if the plant is safely stopped, this is a major blow to Ukraine. No electricity, no defense.

Here is the correct link: https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and...sis-in-ukraine

The applications of Georgia and Moldovia to join the EU will not sit well in Moscow.

3 years in prison for antiwar protests. Back to USSR.

That's how TikTok videos from Ukrainian kids look like these days. The girl who survived shelling if the school in Chernigiv recorded video for her Russian friends: