Do you think Putin will use nuclear weapons?

[colddayinhell]

I'm getting very nervous about the ramping up of the war and Putin's calling up of 300,000 reservists. It feels like this is a major escalation. I know that any use of nuclear weapons would mean instant retaliation but it no longer feels like a MAD scenario as it almost feels now like he wants a scorched earth and has nothing to lose and doesn't care that it would destroy everything.

No, he won't.

If he unleashed a nuclear bomb into London, I hope me and my family die in an instant. I'd rather that (actually I am not bothered that it will happen) than for Ukraine to cede an inch of land to this psychopath that deserves to suffer the collective fate of all the lives he has destroyed. I will put on an extra jumper, have a hot water bottle and be absolutely fine.

I think he will. He has tried cutting off the oil and all that resulted in was peoples and leaders saying it was worth the price.
It is always going to be dangerous to try and humiliate a man like Putin and leave him no escape route.
He does have the range to hit UK-I think they're saying 20 minutes.
I don't think we will be wiped out and the good news is that he will have to bend to Ukraine.
We just have to keep thinking that it will be worth it in the end. Ukraine are already paying in blood. I don't want to do that but realistically and morally, why should we expect Ukraine to pay on her own. We promised to stand by her and now is not the time to withdraw. Words are cheap and now is time for action, to not be cowed by Russia.
Hopefully, it won't happen and I'm sure there are forces about to try and stop it.

I know nothing about this stuff (as is about to become clear) I'm a middle aged housewife. But -
That nuclear power station in Ukraine, could he target that in a false flag operation, claiming that the NATO or Ukrainian had done it? I feel he's losing some support in Russia and could do something like that to get people back on side and 'prove' Russia is in danger.

Well said!

I started a similar thread this afternoon.
He is cornered, if he backs down his own mates will kill him like they killed Colnel Gadaffy and he died in a nasty way do his only option is nuclear and I pray I'm wrong or better still his mates take him out.

The west is just as bad winding him up - as detailed in my posts on the other thread

Old Soviet arsenal is unlikely to be fit for purpose. Putin’s days are numbered and he knows that. Russian oligarchs are nothing like Bill Gates. They are criminals, mafia… majority with blood on their hands. They will get rid of him sooner or later, especially now that he seem to threaten their wealth and freedom even more.

His 'best' option is to blow up the nuclear reactor and blame it on Ukraine missiles or artillery and the resultant terror would be a signal that he could be prepared to do worse. We are in pretty terrifying times whatever the outcome.

as @blueshoes says, it will be better to die in an instant in a nuclear strike than cede an inch of Ukrainian land.
That is something positive to think about-to know that we weren't frightened of him in the end. Better to die bravely than cower in a corner.
I am a bit frightened but @blue shoes has nailed it.
Courage!

@MindYourBeeswax speak for yourself better not to die at all. Have we really come to the point that nuclear war with the death of millions is better than giving in to tyrants I don't think it's an either-or. Millions would die and millions more would be horrifically scarred and the total breakdown of society would be guaranteed. We should not be thinking the unthinkable.

I'm just glad there are no children or families in Ukraine.
Wait, what? There are? But they're obviously not as precious as YOUR children.
Funny how you speak of selfish cowardice, you've done a great job of displaying exactly that.

We are all presuming that his nuclear collection just needs the dust wiping off. If it’s in the same condition as his boots on the ground or his equipment then it’ll need more than a spit shine. When you think about it, preparing for war your priorities are the right people, the right equipment. Why invest so little in this but over invest in nuclear weapons your almost certain never to use.

@MindYourBeeswax thanks, courage indeed. I get to sleep in my own home with my children and family safe with me. Courage is Ukraine

5.4 million have died in the Congo do any of us actually really care or even know ?

www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/countries/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/case-study/background/1996-present#

I haven't caught up with the news. I had to tune out of it some months ago as i was losing sleep over it. Plenty of people are under the impression that there is a threat to us. Perhaps I should go away and look into it further but AFAIK he has threatened us, multiple times.

Don't tar anybody else with my brush though. I'm sure the majority of MNers are much more courageous than I am. I'm just a young(ish) mum with some mental health problems which make me prone to anxiety and panic attacks during which it's hard for me to be objective.

As another poster said its fortunate that those in power don't think like me - and I agree that it is.

I'm well aware there are children existing in other countries.

Anyway I was in the wrong. I hold my hands up.

Why are you singling me out! For one thing, I was quoting @blueshoes because it is comforting to think that we won't die as cowards, giving him Ukraine.

Ukraine are already paying in blood. Why should we be exempt? We're involved-we've given money and weapons-quite right-but does our involvement stop when it might come to our own bloodshed. Like someone rich who writes a cheque for charity but doesn't actually want to do anything that might get their hands dirty!

Anyway, I'm off to bed and as another poster quoted the bible, I'll repeat that. Be Not Alarmed.

Of course they're not as precious to me as my children. I was coming from a purely selfish standpoint and made no attempt to convince people otherwise.

The last I want to do is survive a nuclear war. I want to die immediately. But there won't be a nuclear war. If it did happen in the Zaripozhzhia nuclear power station or if Putin did use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, it will be contained geographically

It won't happen though. Not the MAD scenario. Again, if it happened I would rather die than survive. I am not going to spend even a second worrying about it. I am going to spend my time willing victory to Ukraine. Neither of which scenario I can control.

Could Putin do it? Yes, I think he could. We can talk about MAD and all the rationale behind why it would be crazy for him to resort to nuclear strikes, but to do that is to assume he is capable of behaving somewhat rationally and making logical decisions. As time goes on, and he continues to push a war in Ukraine which no one seems to want apart from him - and which is costing his country massively in terms of finances, military losses and image - its becoming increasingly apparent that he is not making rational decisions - he’s making emotional ones, based on some misplaced patriotic belief that he can restore the Soviet Empire to a glorious state of being. And a highly volatile world leader with access to a nuclear trigger and under immense pressure is not someone I would write off as bluffing.

Some say he’s sick/dying/demented, and if that’s the case then it only makes the situation worse.

Hitler operated under a similar misplaced belief that everything he was doing was for the good of his glorious motherland. And when he was finally cornered, he blew his own brains out rather than face capture or death at the hands of his enemies. You have to wonder what he would have done if he had nuclear capability, would he have resorted to that or would history have played out the same?

Whataboutery. Yawn

Putin isnt threatening Ukraine with nuclear weapons. He is threatening the rest of the West with them if we dont stop helping etc. Mostly, he is threatening the UK.

He wont do it. Well, he might try but ultimately it wouldn't get that far.

I never thought Putin would invade Ukraine I remember telling a friend who asked me if would he do it and I said he would be mad to do it. Which of course he did, and he is mad that's the problem. We have to hope beyond hope that the levers that he has won't work if he ever tried it. But a cornered mad dog is dangerous indeed.

Putin talks some shit.

But a cornered mad dog is dangerous indeed.

That is what he wants you to believe. Ukraine crossed so many of his redlines. We are still here.

Threatening the UK won’t get him very far. We have 230 of our own! The guy is clearly nuts but I can’t see it and stock markets went up today not down. If they thought it was realistic they would be down.

@Bus5 Ukraine isn’t anyone’s to ‘give’, though. They make their own choices about capitulating to Russia or not.

The balance of defending what’s right, with what it may cost is an awful responsibility. I’m glad I’m not bearing it. Let’s hope there are some actual well-informed, responsible, serious people to make good choices. (and thank goodness that feckless halfwit Boris isn’t going to be involved. That must have raised tone of ‘world leaders’ as a group somewhat)