# Russia invades Ukraine -- The regional situation **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion\ **Created:** [December 30, 2023, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349 "2023-12-30T18:43:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 88
**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:** [June 18, 2026, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1743 "2026-06-18T14:15:33Z")
Yeah. It was expanding gas (pressure) that blew the cap, not an explosion. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1744 "2026-06-18T14:25:07Z")
Ukraine could target Russian oil wells and start fires that can’t easily be put out. That happened in [Kuwait at the end of the Gulf War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwaiti_oil_fires). I remember Red Adair’s company was contracted to extinguish the fires and cap wells. John Wayne portrayed Red Adair in _Hellfighters_ 1968. ---
**Author:** ![Calder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Calder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calder)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1745 "2026-06-18T21:42:27Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > no joke, just a video about that debacle, with the dry humor in the voice over Couldn’t tell you why, but the brit’s seem like they are the absolute masters of dry wit. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1746 "2026-06-19T21:51:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There’s no way a drone carried a big enough explosive to, all by itself, be responsible for that first cloud. You are right, it was an own goal. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-J-L2FeRSVU/maxresdefault.jpg "Russia Destroyed Their OWN Oil Tank With Missile: Plus MORE Air Defence Failures in Moscow!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J-L2FeRSVU) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1747 "2026-06-20T01:12:34Z")
So is some Russian Snafuovich going to get transferred straight to the front? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1748 "2026-06-20T01:14:08Z")
Defenestration is customary. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1749 "2026-06-20T01:24:14Z")
Wait, they’re trying to use heat-seeking missiles against drones!? What did they think was going to happen? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1750 "2026-06-20T01:32:07Z")
Perhaps the same thing they were thinking when launching air-to-air missiles that rely on picking up the doppler shift return from incoming jets to target drones moving at 160 kilometers per hour. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2026, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1751 "2026-06-20T01:32:30Z")
Well, the drones normally have pretty hot exposed engines on them. I imagine it’s an OK targeting system when that engine is the hottest thing in the area. Probably not so OK once you have a refinery burning nearby providing a larger, hotter target. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1752 "2026-06-20T15:56:31Z")
That video looks like a trailer for the upcoming movie sequel “Putin vs Acme”. Aren’t the drones using small internal combustion engines (lawnmower engines)? I’d guess that any urban environment is teeming with heat sources of a similar temperature. Don’t be out running a lawnmower during an attack… ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1753 "2026-06-23T19:10:57Z")
> [@Russia invades Ukraine {2022-02-24} (Part 2)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/8140): > > > [@Russia invades Ukraine {2022-02-24} (Part 2)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/8134): > > > > It isn’t pride, Russia needs Crimea in a way they really don’t need the Donbas. > > Oh I agree, but that’s an _strategic_ objective, a _tactical_ withdrawal from Crimea may help them win the war eventually and _then_ reclaim it in the negotiations table, after the Ukrainians in turn fail to hold it. > Of course, possession is more than 9/10 of the law in foreign relations, so it could backfire. I had a question from the news thread, but didn’t want to hijack: Would it be a viable strategy for Ukraine to only isolate Crimea? Not try to hold it themselves, but prevent Russia from holding it? Or is that not a meaningful distinction from the current situation? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1754 "2026-06-24T15:37:30Z")
That was more or less what this YouTube was claiming: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yp1vStryEMs/maxresdefault.jpg "Russians Are Now FLEEING Crimea in HUGE Numbers") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp1vStryEMs) BTW: is the default here on the Dope that we _should_ or _should not_ embed YouTube videos? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1755 "2026-06-24T15:41:00Z")
**Moderating** : Please put the links on their own line so we see the preview. I fixed yours. Also, never bare link please. Give some description of what the link is for. With the preview and context, your link is fine. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1756 "2026-06-25T17:10:08Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > BTW: is the default here on the Dope that we _should_ or _should not_ embed YouTube videos? Embedded videos are probably a bit more convenient, but there’s a long-standing bug that makes it trickier to make it work. Details can be found in the Site Feedback forum. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1757 "2026-06-26T03:18:09Z")
Putin Humiliated as Troops Threaten to ‘Turn Their Weapons’ on Him. > **[Putin Humiliated as Troops Threaten to ‘Turn Their Weapons’ on Him](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/putin-humiliated-troops-threaten-turn-214227218.html)** > > Top military brass and members of the security services are said to be backing a brewing mutiny. > [@](#): > > A Russian military commander has appealed directly to Vladimir Putin to threaten an armed uprising with help from top military brass if the country isn’t told the “truth” about the war. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1758 "2026-06-26T03:43:00Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > A Russian military commander has appealed directly to Vladimir Putin t I foresee a terrible accident as he falls out a window. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1759 "2026-06-26T04:16:18Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Putin Humiliated as Troops Threaten to ‘Turn Their Weapons’ on Him. I mean, let’s scale back from the headlines. It’s a disgruntled ex-volunteer squad commander sounding off and claiming to have support from …‘unnamed military officials and members of the security services’. Which could mean just about anything, but probably not much at all. I’m sure Russian morale sucks. Russian morale always kinda sucks in a long war, because Russian political leaders and military officers have been treating front-line soldiers as disposable bullet-sponges since at least the 18th century. But that headline is just pure yellow journalism. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2026, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1760 "2026-06-26T04:21:38Z")
I wonder if Prigozhin had waited a bit longer what would have happened. He must have thought he had support at the time that didn’t materialize and the war was going better for Russia at that time. Of course Wagner was also used in some of the toughest fighting; Bakhmut was was turned him in the first place. So it might be that his troops would all be dead by now, but I think he chances of actually getting defections amongst the actual military would be higher now. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1761 "2026-06-26T05:05:55Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I foresee a terrible accident as he falls out a window. Indeed, as follows: Step 1: Threaten Putin into having a meeting. Step 2: … Step 3: Die in agony, having accomplished nothing. > [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > I wonder if Prigozhin had waited a bit longer what would have happened. I wonder what Prigozhin thought was going to happen. He was halfway to Moscow unopposed! Quit telling Putin you’re coming for him and just do it FFS! Or is this some weird Russian form of ritual suicide that I’m not aware of? ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1762 "2026-06-26T05:09:53Z")
True, Yahoo / Daily Beast are by no means paragons of journalistic integrity, coupled with the commander’s possibly dubious support claims, but it’s still the first of its kind (to me, anyway) of any steam-blowing voice coming from a commander, against Putin. A situation not contained by Putin this time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349.md?page=87) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349.md?page=89)