To still worried about Russia after the statement today?

[SavvyJenks]

Hi all,

Lurked a bit here when the war in Ukraine kicked off and have kind of stuck around since. I don't know if I'm still too sensitive to the sabre rattling but I found the statement by Andrey Gurulyov - close Putin ally apparently - a bit worrying, saying that if Kaliningrad escalates London would be the first hit city. From Sky News:

"Speaking on Russia's Channel 1 television, Andrey Gurulyov, a State Duma politician, said the UK capital would be hit first if the blockade of the Russian exclave Kaliningrad led to war.

"We'll destroy the entire group of enemy's space satellites during the first air operation," he said.

"No-one will care if they are American or British, we would see them all as NATO.

"Second, we'll mitigate the entire system of anti-missile defence, everywhere and 100%.

"Third, we certainly won't start from Warsaw, Paris or Berlin.

"The first to be hit will be London.

"It's crystal clear that the threat to the world comes from the Anglo-Saxons.""

I'm sure a lot of people understandably have war-fatigue right now, but please reassure me I'm just being paranoid and it's all front.

They are just typically bullies trying to keep people in line with threats and aggression. When in reality they are not as strong as they seem. Does Russia really believe they could take on the whole of nato at once? I doubt it.

It is scary and threatening language. It dies worry me but then I think if they did we wouldn’t know much about it ! Try to push it to the back of your mind OP

That would start WW3. For all their swaggering Russia knows it cannot survive a war against allied Nato countries. However, uttering the threats makes them seem more dangerous to give them a bargaining chip in negotiations that they can concede without losing face.

At least we could stop worrying about the winter gas bill as well be glowing warm.

Don't stress about things you can not alter.

They're full of shit. They've been going over this big talk for months.

It really is terrifying. My anxiety can't take it! Even though I agree there's nothing anyone can do to change anything

You’re not BU to be worried, however you have to look at the context and intended audience. This was on an internal Russian TV show for a Russian audience.

The situation over the Suwalki gap is undoubtedly serious and has the potential for significant escalation but I think it’s unlikely to lead straight to all out war. Lithuania have already said they expect non-military hostile actions as a result of them restricting certain goods transmitting across their territory.

Russia is struggling significantly in Ukraine, the chances of it at present taking military action against a NATO member is slim.

It’s likely to be posturing ahead of the key NATO summit next week too. They want Estonia and the other Balkans to refuse to have additional NATO troops and hardware on their territories and Russia’s modus operandi has always been to threaten.

The way I see it, Putin is FULL of B/S for the Russian audience.

he's surrounded by people who don't agree with that line of thinking and wouldn't allow him near any big red buttons.

should it happen, we'll know fuck all about it.

No point in worrying about it.

In around 350 BC, King Philip II of Macedonia invaded Greece. After he had several key footholds under his command, Philip decided to start putting pressure on Sparta, and sent them the following threatening message: “If I win this war, you will be slaves forever.” The Spartans sent back a single word in reply: “If”

I think this is the same. It's all 'will', 'will', 'would' 'will'. They've been waving this particular willy since February. People are less impressed, so they're flapping it around more vigorously to try to keep our attention.

I live in London so at least I'd be taken out straight away. I refuse to worry about it

Why would they go for London when there are so many enemies between them and us, and we're a bloody island?!

As if after destroying "the entire group of enemy's space satellites during the first air operation," Russia would still exist 🤣 .

Nah. I am old enough to remember when Nikita Kruchov was at a conference (UN?), removed his shoe and whacked the podium with it while shouting "WE will bury you"

Billy Big Balls Bluster. Take no notice.

All of the above

Plus I think I read one of the missiles boomerangs back on them the other day so just because they might aim at London, doesn't mean they'll hit London!

Thank you all for the reality checks! You're right, they do need to big themselves up for their own TV stations, I stupidly hadn't even considered that in the context of these comments.

At the beginning I watched and read everything I could about Russia's threats and intentions. The stress exacerbated my already very bad anxiety to a level I could not handle, so I stopped.
I now live in ignorant bliss.
Sound awfully naive but if a war does or doesn't happen, either way there is nothing I can do about it and watching every news reel and reading every newspaper article and making myself ill over it won't help anything.
Let's hope it's all empty threats but in the meantime if like me you are driving yourself crazy with worry, don't read or listen anymore, it's much easier on your mental health if you stop, believe me.

There is an awful lot to be said for this approach.

FFS - what did you think Russia were going to say ‘we’re fine with it’?

Obviously not. They want to scare you - mainly because they are scared. And so they should be. Russians are dying in the thousands in Ukraine, it’s appalling.

They are literally struggling to take towns the size of Eastbourne. They are hardly going to try London. (But they can talk about it!)

They've been raising the rhetoric for ages , trying to disguise a badly backfired war . Don't think they realised the Ukrainians would put up such a fight

I often find it reassuring to look at what World leaders are doing at any given time. Biden travels to Germany today and will be in Madrid on the 28th for the NATO summit. Where he isn’t is hiding in a nuclear bunker.

And as for Boris, he’s fancying about in Rwanda.

I know what you mean about worrying about the language used.

But I've come to this conclusion (hopefully rightly!).

Putins ear is because he's afraid of NATO and feels threatened by his close nato allies countries are getting to Russian boarders.

Therefore it seems very unlikely he'd start on a NATO country because he knows that'll be Suicide for Russia.

I very much doubt they would do that. It’s just talk

Yes, this.
I am blissfully ignorant. It was affecting my mental health to the point that I thought about getting on step ahead of it all and sorting myself out.

Then I saw this thread.

Trident's missiles would be in the air before London was des