• TomMasz@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    I don’t see how they can threaten Europe and NATO unless they’re holding something back that we haven’t seen.

    • trajekolus@piefed.social
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      1 day ago

      They do it so European countries spend more on their own defense and less on Ukraine. They are better at psychology than at fighting

        • becausechemistry@lemy.lol
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          2 days ago

          I know what you’re saying, but even one of them going off near a target would result in unimaginable suffering, and probably trigger an escalation from there.

        • StinkyFingerItchyBum@lemmy.ca
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          2 days ago

          Considering the now obvious corruption in the russian military where spending was misappropriated to varying degrees over decades to reveal the Russian Bear as a paper tiger, is there any credible evidence of their nuclear readiness?

          I heard an example from Military Historian Gwynn Dyer near the start of the war, that the military was funded to buy $10,000 military grade tires for offroad driving into the heart of Ukraine as driving on the roads was considered tactically unsound. They quickly discovered that instead of the expensive milspec tires, they bought cheap chinese knockoffs forr $2k that only look the part, but self destructed after 10’s of kilometers of offroad driving, leaving the tires and the supply of spares exhausted long before reaching their destinations. This was part of why tanks were abandoned in the initial invasion as supply chains crumbled and fuel couldn’t be brought forward.

          The Russian political and military elite being famously corrupt at all levels is often describes as a Mafiocracy. Rule of gangsters because of this.

          Now a nuclear deterent is the biggest gun in the arsenal and a key pillar of strategic abilities. Presumably it should be the best funded, most sacrosanct of assets. Did the russians let peacetime corruption skimp on parts, labour, maintenance etc…

          If anyone could share any credible info I would be oh so grateful.