Posted on 04/02/2023 12:23:40 PM PDT by Twotone
The Russian authorities may have shut down his newspaper, but journalist Dmitry Muratov refuses to be silenced.
When we meet in Moscow, the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta and Russia's Nobel Peace Prize laureate is worried how far the Kremlin will go in its confrontation with the West.
"Two generations have lived without the threat of nuclear war," Mr Muratov tells me. "But this period is over. Will Putin press the nuclear button, or won't he? Who knows? No one knows this. There isn't a single person who can say for sure."
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow's nuclear sabre-rattling has been loud and frequent.
Senior officials have dropped unsubtle hints that Western nations arming Ukraine should not push Russia too far. A few days ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Then one of his closest aides, Nikolai Patrushev, warned that Russia had a "modern unique weapon capable of destroying any enemy, including the United States".
Bluff and bluster? Or a threat that needs to be taken seriously? Mr Muratov has picked up worrying signs inside Russia.
"We see how state propaganda is preparing people to think that nuclear war isn't a bad thing," he says. "On TV channels here, nuclear war and nuclear weapons are promoted as if they're advertising pet food."
"They announce: 'We've got this missile, that missile, another kind of missile.' They talk about targeting Britain and France; about sparking a nuclear tsunami that washes away America. Why do they say this? So that people here are ready."
On Russian state TV recently, a prominent talk-show host suggested that Russia "should declare any military target on the territory of France, Poland and the United Kingdom a legitimate target for [Russia]".
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
The problem Putin is wrestling with is called the sunk cost fallacy. This is the phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial. The goals of the special military operation were so vague, that a few months ago Putin could have declared the Nazis have been wiped out or Ukraine has been disarmed and simply frozen the war. Probably the West would have forced Ukraine to stop fighting and go to the negotiating table and, at that time, they’d have had little choice. Of course, whoever signed the agreement on Ukraine’s side would have kissed any future political office goodbye.
At this point, however, the only choice for either side is complete victory or total exhaustion forcing them to negotiate.
New York City already had those pathetic public service announcements on nuclear war.
For those who don’t recall them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-5d7V4Sbqk
Remember—after a nuclear attack stay tuned to local media—they will tell you what you need to do...
You can’t make up this stuff!
Thucydides Trap. An emerging China/Russia block represents a threat to the Dollar world order…
It’s clear from what’s happening in the Ukraine that the Rooskie army is suffering from a serious case of institutional neglect. If they’re so under-spending on the maintenance and training of the army, which is on display for the whole world to see, how much more neglect would you imagine has been suffered by their nuclear stockpile, which is hidden from sight?
If I’m Pootie-Poot, and I’m strapped for cash (or raiding the piggy bank to fill my Lichtenstein bank account), I’ve got to think nuclear weapons maintenance is a great place to cut back, because NOBODY has the brass to call the USSR’s bluff.
putin is as stupid and evil as he seems
his only strategy is to threaten greater and greater harm, to escalate
he’s too stupid to declare victory and go home and have a parade
it’s all about *him* and *his* negative ego
he is not acting in the best interest of his country or his people
he is serving his negative ego and that’s it
it’s over a year and a month now and he hasn’t beaten a bunch of farmers and miners
the chances of him winning will continue to diminish
there are 195 countries in the world, 123 of them signed on to to charging him for ‘crimes against humanity’
are the russian people too fearful or too ignorant to act?
Putin and his buds have gone mad
Boy, that truly sums it up. Thanks for the link.
Imagine being that evil, that dark and that stupid as to believe death, torture, rape, destruction etc will benefit them?
feelings of superiority never last, only Love lasts.
What goes around, comes around...
May it be soon
they have made their bed...
“If you shut up truth and bury it under the ground, it will but grow, and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through it will blow up everything in its way.”
~ Émile Zola
Good money after bad
They have no guns
What would "complete victory" look like for Ukraine?
For Ukraine, complete victory would be the return of all Ukrainian lands including Crimea. It would involve the removal of the Russian fleet and cessation of all attacks from Russia and their proxies.
Russian victory is harder to define. Probably getting to keep all of the land they now hold and an agreement from Ukraine not to allow any Western arms or soldiers on their territory and to be politically neutral. A Russian victory would be harder to achieve because many Ukrainians would continue the fight in an underground fashion even if their government went totally in favor of Russia, which is also hard to see happening.
My guess is that at some point the US will stop supplying arms and intelligence and therefore force Ukraine to the negotiating table. Everything will be frozen where it is and the conflict will erupt again once Russia has recovered.
This is one heck of a cluster fluck. No one is going to win this except the arms manufacturers.
I see "complete victory" for Russian as Ukraine being completely controlled by Russia.
I think your guess where "Everything will be frozen where it is and the conflict will erupt again once Russia has recovered" is chilling, but perhaps the most likely.
You’re welcome. A little Instant Karma. 👏
Are we still winning, what a great idea to have the Ukes fight the Rooskies for us
In that case.... they will nuke us first. So stop worrying
I’m not worried. But insanity is hard to watch
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