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Tom Rinaldo

(22,911 posts)
Mon Feb 28, 2022, 12:37 PM Feb 2022

Putin and associates have little to lose with nuclear "threats", and perhaps a little to gain

Putin is already cast as a pariah now so he doesn't have a reputation to defend anymore as any kind of reputable world leader. Meanwhile I've heard some pundits muse about NATO and/or one or more western nations imposing a "No-Fly" zone over Ukraine. This is something Ukraine has requested from the West, and Putin no doubt has noticed that increasingly the West is taking Ukraine's requests seriously, and eventually complying. If Putin's troops start increasing their rate of atrocities in Ukraine, pressure will grow on the West to do more than just add sanctions and send armaments to Ukraine. From Putin's perspective nuclear sabre rattling serves a purpose if it in anyway fortifies the resolve of NATO nations to steer clear of Ukraine's borders, either on the ground or in the air, no matter what Putin's forces do inside of them.

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Putin and associates have little to lose with nuclear "threats", and perhaps a little to gain (Original Post) Tom Rinaldo Feb 2022 OP
His biggest problem will be multigraincracker Feb 2022 #1
We say he did the unthinkable with a full scale invasion of Ukraine... Tom Rinaldo Feb 2022 #3
But the Russian people do. C_U_L8R Feb 2022 #2
It's difficult to predict the mind of a madman... orwell Feb 2022 #4

Tom Rinaldo

(22,911 posts)
3. We say he did the unthinkable with a full scale invasion of Ukraine...
Mon Feb 28, 2022, 12:45 PM
Feb 2022

He may also be doing the unthinkable inside of Russia, rapidly hastening his demise as "leader" of that country, as the whole world, Russian citizens included, continue to react in real time to the war Putin chose to start. Events are moving faster than anyone can keep pace with, snowballing out of control for Putin. I think you are right.

C_U_L8R

(44,894 posts)
2. But the Russian people do.
Mon Feb 28, 2022, 12:43 PM
Feb 2022

Maybe they'd like to have a bright future, untainted by Putin's corrosive schemes.

orwell

(7,754 posts)
4. It's difficult to predict the mind of a madman...
Mon Feb 28, 2022, 12:47 PM
Feb 2022

...surrounded by sycophants. (We are going through that here as well...)

I suspect that the ratcheting up of rhetoric is his knee jerk reaction to the slow pace of his "blitzkrieg" and the rapid pace of the sanctions. In other words, it is a sign of desperation, not confidence.

In fact this whole adventure seems to be a sign of desperation.

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