# Russia invades Ukraine {2022-02-24} (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion, breaking-news\ **Created:** [February 24, 2022, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037 "2022-02-24T08:30:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 53
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1041 "2022-03-04T01:01:35Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Wondering if it could be an effective strategy to airdrop thousands of cases of vodka on the demoralized Russian forces. Or just leave them laying around everywhere. They need to start announcing that over public address systems: “Dear Russian soldiers: We have vodka served by young Ukrainian girls, and pierogis served by Ukrainian babushkas, if you just lay down arms! We promise the babushkas won’t tell you to fuck off and die if you just come have some pierogis!” ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1042 "2022-03-04T01:02:45Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Russian army fired on a Nuclear Power Plant. It is on fire and they’re still firing at it apparently. If true, this will probably push China and anyone else downwind off the fence. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1043 "2022-03-04T01:03:12Z")
It’s accurate – shelling of nuclear plant and resultant fire confirmed by CNN and CBC, currently the main headline. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1044 "2022-03-04T01:11:07Z")
I had just written a lengthy post about the possibility of Russia using a nuclear “warning shot” on some uninhabited place to scare Ukraine and the rest of the world into backing down, but now I see the recent news and I think they actually did almost the same thing, but stopped short of actually using a nuclear weapon. It might be equally effective. The headline reading “NUCLEAR” might be enough of a psychological blow to achieve this objective. Either that or it causes NATO to intervene, which could itself cause a nuclear war. I really do think Putin would go there, and it scares the bejeezus out of me. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1045 "2022-03-04T01:13:18Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > It’s accurate – shelling of nuclear plant and resultant fire confirmed by CNN and CBC, currently the main headline. Dammit. Doesn’t somebody have to step in if they “accidentally” set off a nuclear catastrophe?! We can’t just let that go, can we? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1046 "2022-03-04T01:14:20Z")
Putin will of course claim that it was a “rogue act” that was never authorized. Our response, via the UN and NATO, should be to give the Russians 24 hours to exit Ukraine before direct NATO intervention. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1047 "2022-03-04T01:19:22Z")
Are you serious?! The response should be to negotiate some kind of ceasefire whereby there can be humanitarian aid rendered to the nuclear plant and its surrounding area. What you’re suggesting is just going to get the entire world killed. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1048 "2022-03-04T01:22:20Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > For that convoy, I suspect a dozen or so mobile M2 50 cal machine guns (and crews) would cause havoc. Yes logistics for that is rough too, but they are fish in a barrel. The convoy is armed with weapons of equal or superior power. You cannot just stroll up to them and start shooting. They can shoot you, too. This isn’t some unexpected thing; this is what you’d expect an attacking army to do. The Russians are going to form resupply centers just outside artillery range of Kyiv, set their arty up, and deploy ground troops to various axes of attack. The Russians were never going to just drive all the way from Belarus to Kyiv in one shot, you can’t do that. You don’t just scoot beyond your lines of supply and enter a city in march formation. > [@wolfpup](#): > > Our response, via the UN and NATO, should be to give the Russians 24 hours to exit Ukraine before direct NATO intervention. They’d launch nukes in the first hour. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1049 "2022-03-04T01:28:15Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > They’d launch nukes in the first hour. That’s a real risk for sure. But they didn’t during the (arguably) even greater tensions of the Cuban missile crisis in the depths of the Cold War, when Kennedy directly confronted Soviet ships in a naval blockade, and at one point the US Navy dropped depth charges on a Soviet nuclear submarine. But @Lamoral is probably right that the more sensible approach is to appeal to the Russians to allow multilateral assistance to contain the damage to the nuclear plant. How Putin reacts to that will be an indicator of whether or not he’s completely lost his mind. If he has, what do you suggest we do? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1050 "2022-03-04T01:35:03Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > I will comment on the lack of Russian aircraft to establish Air Supremacy; one other possibility is the same thing we have been commenting on regarding that column of trucks and tanks; lack of maintenance. Combat Jets and Helicopters are maintenance hogs, and if the personnel are not well-trained/motivated, a lot of them could be down for maintenance at any one time. And if a critical spare part is held up in production, dozens of aircraft could be down for it. How many? Well, the Rus are unlikely to tell us. We’ll see if they show up this coming week or not. I heard on the NYT’s _The Daily_ podcast that a leading theory among defense analysts is that the Russian air forces are leery of friendly fire from inexperienced Russian ground forces. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1051 "2022-03-04T01:38:29Z")
I suspect the attack on the nuclear power plant is probably just part of an attempt to take down the power grid. They aren’t necessarily shelling the reactors. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1052 "2022-03-04T01:41:25Z")
Well, they set one of the reactors on fire. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1053 "2022-03-04T01:41:56Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I suspect the attack on the nuclear power plant is probably just part of an attempt to take down the power grid. They aren’t necessarily shelling the reactors. Or it’s a big FU before deciding to call it on the battle for the big cities, before retreating into the Southeast that they’ve gotten in the bag. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1054 "2022-03-04T01:43:12Z")
Well, the problem with that plan is Zaporizhzhia is near Enerhodar, in the southeast of the country. ETA: and they still haven’t taken Mariupol. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1055 "2022-03-04T02:01:31Z")
To be honest, as this conflict continues I’m feeling less and less like there’s any chance of Ukraine “winning” it, if winning means that the Russians fuck off back to Russia and leave all of Ukraine’s territory alone. I feel like we’ve all gotten this very carefully curated narrative of the conflict, with the plucky underdogs, the legendary pilots, the sunflowers, the handsome-everyman president, it’s all being presented as a romantic struggle that the whole world should be rooting for. But how much more punishment can Ukraine really take? _Really?_ The attack on this nuclear reactor is only a tiny, tiny taste of what Russia is capable of doing. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1056 "2022-03-04T02:01:59Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I heard on the NYT’s _The Daily_ podcast that a leading theory among defense analysts is that the Russian air forces are leery of friendly fire from inexperienced Russian ground forces. One source said it wouldn’t be that hard for the Russians to simply coordinate by time slots. From 8 AM to 8 PM, they could say, “we’re flying, don’t fire on us.” Then from 8 PM to 8 AM, they could tell the Russian SAMs, “Feel free to fire on anything in the sky, we’re grounded.” rinse and repeat. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1057 "2022-03-04T02:03:26Z")
. [here is the good news:](https://www.windfinder.com/#6/45.2672/28.9380) western wind blowing any eventual fallout back to russia maybe that is a domestic tipping point for Mr. P. - one can hope! ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1058 "2022-03-04T02:12:24Z")
I don’t think I’ve seen a single outlet say Ukraine has anything but a miniscule chance of winning a conventional war. We should root for Ukraine and the sunflowers and Zelensky are inspiring. What does that have to do with them defeating Russia? The most optimistic hope (not prediction) I’ve seen is that Ukraine can be enough of a meat grinder and the sanctions can fuck over enough oligarchs, that there’s a coup in Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1059 "2022-03-04T02:13:12Z")
GOOD NEWS - The fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station broke out IN A TRAINING BUILDING outside the plant’s perimeter, the state emergency service said in a statement unconfirmed fresh off twitter ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/1060 "2022-03-04T02:13:30Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > . > [here is the good news:](https://www.windfinder.com/#6/45.2672/28.9380) > > western wind blowing any eventual fallout back to russia > > maybe that is a domestic tipping point for Mr. P. - one can hope! Poisoning a chunk of land that a lot of innocent Russians live on doesn’t strike me as especially good news [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037.md?page=52) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037.md?page=54)