Russia - threadbanned users in OP

If it gets that far I'd say lots of recriminations and a massive step up in supply of conventional weapons/support bringing an accelerated end to this sorry war....but I doubt nato/us launch nukes tactical or otherwise.

China trying to demand restraint if radioactive fallout is being spread across NATO member states won't have any impact on what NATO does to putin's forces for causing a nuclear incident in Ukraine and it has been repeatedly spelled out by NATO that putin's forces would face severe consequences if this happened. If putin got away with using radiation as a weapon once there is a load of ex soviet nuclear material where he could repeat the same tactic again and again and again so NATO has to respond once this line is crossed.

China also shares a border with russia and I can't see how they would be happy to look for leniency for putin once he crosses the red line of actually deliberately causing an incident that leads to nuclear fall out.

The nuclear fall out won't just stop at the border with Ukraine and he will also have to face causing the deaths of large numbers of russians in areas where moskow may already be unpopular.

"Setting off a small explosive close to the plant but not enough to threaten a nuclear release" -- that worked well with the Nova Kakhovka dam. Trust the Russians to f*ck things up.

Ukraine has literally been asking for more help since the opening week of the war. Zelenskyy's message to the world on week 1 was, "Please - close the skies."

"Appear strong when you are weak and weak when you are strong."

In the opening week of the war, few predicted that Ukraine would not only not be overrun by Russia, but that they would hold the vast majority of their territory, have reduced Russia to a defensive posture, and be putting together counter-offensive operations. Ukraine has constantly downplayed its true combat effectiveness while always pressing for more weapons via public pronouncements, usually by Zelenskyy. He's been on what seems like a perpetual junket to keep aid coming. It's not that Ukraine's allies won't have a proper idea of what Ukraine is actually getting, but it helps a lot with allies' public support for giving the aid to always say that Ukraine doesn't have enough.

This isn't to say that Ukraine couldn't really use those F-16s, for example, it's only to say that you're never going to get a true picture of the state of things via public pronouncement like that. In war, cards will be held close to the chest and deception is crucial. Well, that's what the canny participants will do. Ukraine haven't been bad at it so far.

Look at what Russia has built to withstand what they think Ukraine could throw at them, and we probably get a truer picture of their capability as things stand.

More proof if needed to show the Russian mindset, a truly sick and twisted nation.

Details on another victim of this week's Russian terror attack, probably over the weekend to be replaced a new attack....

I give up, there's no other way to describe it

Waaaagh

...

It would end Ukrainian offence and Russian defence. Everybody would be forced to vacate the area for the foreseeable future. If Russia wanted to attack again, they'd have to do it in lead-lined suits.

I'm not saying Russia definitely wouldn't blow the PP, but it wouldn't be a move to rebuild for another attack. It would just be the ultimate spiteful stunt before walking out the door.

The best thing would be that people who wish to post tweets do so by pasting the link into the "Insert Media" button at the bottom of the screen (red arrow pointing to it below) when you're typing a message. The boards software embeds the link so that anyone will be able to read it from within boards.

This will then look like this:

So the Russian crowd Rybar are reporting that there is a massive attack by Ukrainians on Kremina. I saw someone on YouTube mention it. Doesn't seem to be much chatter on twitter yet so not sure how much truth there is to it.

Presumably they thought that it sounded better for the UN than "Sometime RT correspondent and full-time twitter troll". He even made sure to wear his glasses to look extra scholarly.

I see they had Max Blumenthal of GrayZone out batting for them yesterday at the UN. So they're sending out all of their English language speaking useful idiots.

Who knows - we might even see everyone's favourite two independent MEPs up soon - or maybe that'd be too much even for them

If they still embed correctly that's ideal.

1 post in the last 10 hours. Some difference between that and exactly 1 week ago!

If they just cripple the plant instead of causing a radioactive disaster I highly doubt it. A more measured western response would be announcing ATACMS, F16 and attack helis to Ukraine asap.

It's been made abundantly clear, in public and I'm sure in private too, that if anything happens to the plant that Russia will see a swift and comprehensive response.

The BBC would have certain journalistic standards, that they abide by and speculation about body doubles would, I Imagine, fall below them. Now if there was incontrovertible evidence of their use then that might change.

If you google "Putin Body double" though you can see many other outlets that are happy to write stories on the speculation, especially after the meet & greet in Dagestan the other day (including the Independent which is owned by a Russian oligarch)

Just look at the backdrop to all these videos...and you are looking at the real Russia, Rural Russia, and not the glitzy Moscow or St Petersburg. And when you see / hear reports of Russians stealing toilet's, fridges, washing machines etc. its easy to understand why. No Wonder Putin fears a successful Ukraine, one in the EU, an economic success and his Russians looking over the border and comparing it to their own miserable life and conditions. They would become uncontrollable.

Because they have all been brainwashed that it's WW2 again, and the Nazi'z are coming to kill them all.

Between that guy at the UN and Micky D and our two MEPs our reputation is taking a battering. Russian propaganda is really making inroads in this country. The other day was driving in a car with a friend. This guy is very much non politically engaged but he groaned when he heard on the radio that the US was announcing more aid to Ukraine. We were in mid conversation about something else completely. But the fact that he physically groaned and tut tutted when he heard that really struck me. I was actually Gobsmacked and didn’t acknowledge or tackle him on it. Getting more and more forwarded what’s apps as well decrying the war and anti NATO . The dial has been really turned up in pro Russian activity in this country. This time last year it was no where near as bad. I would bet every second person you meet here now would be 50/50 about the war in Ukraine. It’s a disgrace. Has there been any polls to gauge the level of support? I hope it would be overwhelmingly in favour of Ukraine. Are people in this country that heedless that they side with an expansionist murderous imperial regime over its smaller neighbour after all this country has been through. The issue has been politicised to death as well and being pro Russian is nearly an anti refugee establishment/government position.

How easily we forget, eh?

This country got a bit of money and the charity fell right out of it as a result.

The right wing making in roads in this country is one thing, but the gall of them playing up Ireland's past victimhood out of one side of their mouth, and demonising today's victims with the other.

It's not even somebody from Nigeria perhaps chancing their arm in this case, but a country that is very evidently getting devastated and having huge amounts of its population displaced by the most terrible of war.

If there isn't a charitable attitude to that, then there can be little hope, and it's only our arrogance that makes us think that such a rape of a country could never happen to us again where it's us begging for aid, where it's us putting our women and children on a refugee boat to some safer part of the world, not knowing if we'd ever see them again.