Russia - threadbanned users in OP

India is hugely reliant on cheap Russian fertiliser to enable it to grow enough food to feed it's vast population, so no chance, and that's just one of several hooks Russia has deeply imbeded in their flesh.

If I was Russian, I would be absolutely trying to get out by any means necessary. The future is looking increasingly bleak...

From the Guardian's rolling coverage:

Since then further details have emerged of EU goods that will be banned from export to Russia. The Commission wants to stop the sale of European appliances, including dishwashers and washing machines, because officials believe the Russian army is raiding such products for their chips, because they have run out of semiconductors.

The EU also wants to tighten import curbs on goods generating income for Russia, ranging from wood, pulp and paper, cigarettes and cosmetics. Bags and suitcases, telephones and cars, paper and newsprint, women’s clothes, make-up and shaving products feature on a long list of items subject to trade restrictions that also includes many industrial goods, tools and chemical substances.

I think the west should take a good look and full sanctions not just for Russia but for any country that recognises the latest landgrab as legitimate. See if their special relationship with Russia extends to being a pariah state alongside it.

(Just make sure to woo the Chinese first. 😁)

Apart from the usual suspects, you have to wonder how any self-respecting government, Western or otherwise can stand by and watch this land grab (think Portugal in terms of size) considering the Kremlin made no attempt whatsoever to make the "referendums" look any way genuine - people casting votes out of the boot of cars, armed soldiers hovering nearby and so on. I know political pragmatism will win out but Jesus, it will be embarassing to watch governments shrug this one off...

Ha, fair enough...I had not bothered to re-read your posts. Been some other Russia-supportive posters that preferred to give him the respectful "President" title while telling us what a great job he's doing/how it is all going according to some plan, and it has been remarked on previously (don't have time to search about or give example, tricky to do that on the site anyway).

What effect on Russia would Putin using nuclear weapons have? Russian cities evacuating? Anarchy in the streets?

I must agree with EOQRTL, I think this gives the war a renewed sense of rightousness that the Kremlin were unable to sell to the people in the previous months. Now the country will enter into a total war footing, and all the extraordinary measures which come with that.

The main reason I think Putin would use a nuclear weapon is the economic chaos it would cause globally.

The economic destruction globally would be inestimable.

He might kill a half million in Kiev with a small nuke but the damage to the global orders and economy would leave that in the small column. I doubt that there would be a nuclear retaliation.

It may well be his intent to do so purely to collapse the global economy in the belief Russia will rise again stronger.

It's possible but unlikely, probably.

They may not have anywhere to flee to with news of countries closing their borders to Russians. I read yesterday that recruitment offices were being setup at border checkpoints, so I imagine the war machine is doing brisk business in that respect...

I'd say they have enough AKs in storage to arm a continent.

They may hold urban areas through sheer numbers of lads in building taking pot shots.

The 4 annexed provinces have some natural defence advantages. The southern ones have the best of Russian soldiers.

They'll be digging In and fortifying for months now.

Through sheer weight of numbers they should be able to hold on, at massive cost to life of their men and civilian population.

It's a small ask for a massive Army, at incredible cost to them but it may just be possible.

If they were half decently run, trained and equipped this mobilization would be to completely take everything east of Dneiper at less cost and dead men.

If it's as reliable as your usual Twitter sources, unlikely to be true

This would be hugely controversial within Belarus itself. The Belarussian people have no quarrel with Ukraine and see the invasion as being Putin's war. If Lukashenko tries to send 100k Belarussian men to war, expect major pushback in Belarus....people will not take this lying down.