Russia - threadbanned users in OP

He won't be that stupid though, it's like hoping the school bully will square up against the local boxing champion.

The problem is how do you deal with a major nuclear power that’s basically gone rogue?

The comparisons even with tackling the likes of the Nazi German regime and it’s allies in the 1930s and 40s don’t really apply, as none of those powers had weapons that could end civilisation.

From what I can see of it the best we can probably hope for is containing Russia and hoping its own people drive change.

What’s happening in Ukraine is absolutely horrendous beyond words and we are all justifiably outraged by it. The problem is western or any other powers have very limited scope to intervene directly.

A nuclear war is something that just isn’t winnable. It would basically be kamikaze mission and could result in hundreds of millions, possibly even billions dead and decades of dire poverty and probably the end of civilisation as we know it.

It’s a total mess and Putin fully knows how much power he wields because of it.

Seems we are left with a situation where all we can do is keep imposing sanctions and sending a message that they have basically left the civilised world.

You’d really have to wonder about humanity though. The minute a bit of tech comes along someone weaponises it.

Nuclear weapons have to quite literally be the most ludicrous and self destructive devices ever conceived. If a person suggested something similar as tactic in their life, they’d be getting interviewed by a forensic psychiatrist and probably checked into a secure facility. Yet when countries do it, it’s just defence / war.

Pure evil this regime. It's unfathomable how people can think like this and diagram that.

Also I'm fearful people worrying over cost of living will turn some of the more self serving amongst us against Ukrainians. We must realise the cost of sanctions against the Russians is going to have an impact in our wartime economy.

It's a price I for one am willing to pay.

It’s worth also understanding the psychology of simple empathy vs compassion.

Empathy is a bit like a mirror. It allows you to project yourself into, feel and interpret what others feel. It’s huge part of what we are and how we socially function. It’s usually very positive, but people can also just become completely overwhelmed, go cold and dismissive, or even become aggressive towards what they start to perceive as a source of pain, as they can’t process it.

You see that for example with the response that someone might have by cutting off and not contacting a friend who has a terminal illness or some complex and painful situation like has been recently bereaved.

It’s usually not out of nastiness, but an empathetic response that has been completely overwhelmed and they can’t cope.

It’s also why some medics and similar can become cold / hard and unapproachable. Others become compassionate and helpful, but don’t allow themselves to just burn out.

The contrast is a compassionate response, where you have a sense of empathy, but it triggers a response to do something to attempt to help and solve the problem for the person you’re feeling empathy for and your sense of having helped drives you.

It’s extremely important that in a crisis situation we focus on that kind of response and not simply become overwhelmed and burn out. That’s also the problem with modern communication technology. It can elicit a huge empathic response, but can be so overwhelming that people begin to burn out. It keeps highlighting the horror and doesn’t always provide a context where people can help.

Ireland has shown a huge degree of practical response in terms of helping refugees and I think that’s hugely important in how we process this ourselves too. It’s all too easy to watch & become burned out and just build a mental wall.