Russia - threadbanned users in OP

A lot of people are mentally exhausted from worrying about events in Ukraine, which is understandable after a month and a bit of being bombarded with information about it.

It's one of those things that's going to be used to lambast other people no matter what they do, because if one spends all their time worrying about Ukraine, you get people going, "While you're focused on Ukraine, here's what they have been doing!", and if you focus on other things, it's "Oh, looks like people are losing interest in Ukraine..." There's no mixture which everyone could agree is the right one.

As for whether the Western world has the stamina, I should ask does Russia have the stamina? It's not as if Russia can go on and on with this either. They're being hit with sanctions, have piles of bodies coming back (or being cremated, as the case may be), Putin has people quitting the country over their disagreement with his actions. How is that tenable? It's not, is the answer.

And herein lies the problem.

Putin is digging such a huge hole for himself that the distinct danger now is that he will be squeezed in to such a tight corner, he uses the nuclear last resort. Whether that is a tactical nuke on Ukraine or something much more devastating only he knows.

Gotta hope and that the people that have keys never turn them. Also will half them even launch. Granted probably more than enough to bake the earth either way...

Very good interview with a Russian based sociologist. He says he knew for the last two years at least that Putin would invade Ukraine and try and take the entire country. He talks about how Putin is turning the country from an authoritarian state into a totalitarian one. One very alarming prediction he makes is that the dictator may try and invade Poland and the Baltic states next (which might mean it would be no bad thing if the Ukrainian army was to inflict a humiliating defeat on the Russians - knock the wind out of their sails so to speak).

I could imagine Putin using a tactical nuclear weapon, if he were to use any sort of nuclear weapon. It just doesn't stand to reason he'd go any bigger than that, if there's any reason left in him. To be clear, to anyone not sure of the 'difference', a tactical nuke is one of a very low yield in comparison to standard nuclear weapons.

This one developed by the USA is supposed to have had no more than a yield of 1kt. By comparison, the Beirut blast had something like 2.5 thousand tonnes of explosive material in that warehouse when it all went off. Maybe Russia has something similar.

But it's crazy we're even talking about the possibility.

Yes, denying responsibility not because they don't approve of it, but because they think it might reflect badly on the regime (even though they are probably secretly thrilled that Ukrainian civilians are being slaughtered).

Russia forced to deny it

I agree with you in ways Glenmora. Personally have been following this invasion online and on TV since it started and it has had a profound effect on me. The depths of evil and depravity that these poor people are being subjected to is hard to comprehend. I have done what little I can, donated money and we are waiting to hear from the red cross regarding taking in refugees here in our home. However, I definitely do notice that a lot of people have moved on now, the talk is covid or the price of diesel. While I understand that its explained as 'compassion fatigue ', I just don't understand it. I wake at night and all I can think about is stories of murders and rapes. I know we have lived through other atrocities (I'm mid 40s), but I think this war will stay with me for a long time. The brutality - hearing about little girls being raped, how can these soldiers be such animals? So while I do agree that a lot of people have moved on, I also think that a lot, like myself and others posting here, have been really affected by this war. It is so hard to believe we are seeing this in 2022.