• rustyfish@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    It’s the year 2031. NATO troops surrounded the Cremlin after a weekend of mostly chill driving through the Russian countryside. Picking up defectors here and there.

    Russia still threatens with war if they don’t stop.

    Everybody laughs. Love is in the air. Good times.

      • Kit Sorens@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        4 months ago

        Question: We’ve seen sand-filled missiles due to corruption and cronyism, and they were actually transfered to the front line expecting to be live munitions. How many Russian ICBMs do you think are truly functional between the “new” ones and the 70yo cold war hulks?

        To be clear, I don’t revel in the idea of a war between the Ruskies and NATO, but Putin is certain to be wondering this, too. How effective are his strategic assets, truly? I’m sure the CIA has figured that out and is guiding US response on that intel. They know exactly how far an insecure dictator can be pushed.

          • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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            4 months ago

            Yeah and what would that do. Sure a lot of people would die but it won’t help Russia win the war. If they shoot their load and they destroyed say two cities, then everyone else will know that’s it. Launching the missiles would be literally the last thing that they ever do. Mutually assured destruction not required.

            The best way to survive is to constantly threaten but never actually act. Eventually someone will do something about putting oil just die of old age. There isn’t really a way there’s ends with him being victorious.

      • BastingChemina@slrpnk.net
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        4 months ago

        Millions will die from the nuclear fallout and billions will starve from the following nuclear winter.

        Nuclear war is terrifying

          • dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            4 months ago

            I’m going to watch this video later tonight, but I sincerely wonder what the US and NATO’s protocols are for rogue nuclear nations led by someone with nothing to lose.

            • frezik@midwest.social
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              4 months ago

              Those are more hypothetical than real. Kim Jong Un has plenty to lose personally. Every dictator on Earth does. They live in mansions while their people starve, and that’s not nothing.

        • dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          4 months ago

          Pretty much all macro organisms on Earth will die. A nuclear winter would destroy all agriculture on Earth and basically eliminate all photosynthesis.

        • Rbnsft@lemm.ee
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          4 months ago

          Could help against the current Trend of weather with the increase of Temperature

        • frezik@midwest.social
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          4 months ago

          There’s a very good chance of that, but the consequences of being wrong are too high.

          That said, there is an I-know-that-they-know-that-I-know game involved. We might not be able to chance Russians nukes working, but Putin has to be wondering if they work, too. If he launches one and it fizzles, the whole world will cheer NATO on while obliterate Putin’s regime in a conventional war. Therefore, he has all the more reasons to not launch them preemptively and let the question hang in the air.

        • dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          4 months ago

          I don’t know if I would bet the extinction of all life on Earth save for the most resilient bacteria on that assumption.

          Suppose that through the Russian government’s kleptocracy, that after they spent billions on mansions and stolen exotic cars, that they put the rest into maintaining their nuclear arsenal.