Hacker News Reader

Comment by bluefirebrand | Hacker News Reader

Putin is full of hot air.

I believe with how this is going, one of his advisors or generals will kill him before allowing him to actually fire nukes and initiate MAD.

These people might be ok letting him play war in the Ukraine but inviting annihilation from the rest of the world? I'm not so sure.

But then again, it doesn't seem like there's a lot of rational behavior coming out of Putin's Russia.

View on HN

The failures in logistics in the current escapade show he has surrounded himself by yes men IMO

Yes men might as well be referred to as survival men.

In the past we took such warnings seriously. I think that was wise.

In the past we saw how decades of nuclear tension passed by without a single bomb dropping.

I don't think anyone has a real appetite for nuclear war.

Playing the game of chicken enough times will lead to a bad outcome.

What's the alternative? Let the nuclear power that is the most mad do whatever they want?

This is more serious than you think. Putin thought that, by now, he'll be already controlling the capital and setting a new puppet government. He is clearly losing the war (he was looking for quick toppling of the government).

Putin is in a very bad situation right now. And having his nuclear "deterrents" in high-readiness doesn't help.

Minutes ago the BBC confirmed both Ukraine and Russia will have negotiations, without pre-conditions in the Belarus border. This means:

- Its either a trap from Russia signals intelligence to be able to track Zelenskyy location. Hopefully he will not be there himself and is being well advised on that aspect by local foreign military experts. I love his Twitter posts, but I am sure all Russian military satellites are collecting signals intelligence and they can pick up their phones.

- Russia is really in a difficult spot militarily, knows about the advanced weapons coming in. Sadly that means the situation becomes more dangerous. I wish all the best to Ukraine but the sad true is the better things go for them the more dangerous it becomes for the world.

I have been tracking also lot's of US Black Hawks helicopters close to the Ukrainian border. The potential for an accident is high.

Slava Ukraini!

Unfortunately it looks, and I so much, so much, hope I am wrong, that the reasons for these negotiations, is so that Russia can transmit an Ultimatum.

I have reliable information that Belarus troops are being prepared to join Russian troops at the request of military support of their Russian fellows.

The US had "reliable information" that Iraq had WMD's. Try to be better than that.

The US never had reliable information just pretended so. Ukraine just complained there are missiles being launched from Belarus territory. Asked if this how they are preparing for the negotiations.

It's interesting that Belarus dictator said he would personally guarantee all airplanes based in his country would be grounded until the delegation would return to Ukraine. But did NOT say he would give the same guarantee for air assets based in Russia...

sorry to ruin your hope but it’s unlikely Russia will accept defeat here. they will go in with all they have. nothing to lose anymore.

Not only that. European countries are keen on giving Kiyv more weapons [0], which is what Putin has been warning against.

[0] https://twitter.com/Bundeskanzler/status/1497632817450266632

But somewhere you'll have to draw the line when dealing with a dictator on nukes or he won't stop using that card ever.

I fear that anyone inside Russia, that could be in a position to topple him has been silenced long ago. At this point, he is trenched in like Stalin.

Every puppet has his or her limit though.

I'm afraid anybody with the integrity to do something like that has been removed from power a long time ago already. Putin is surrounded by scared yes men, and he's always said there are strategic uses for nuclear weapons, not just a last line of defense by MAD.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com