Russian invasion of Ukraine

[Elegiac]

Russia as country collapses, I mean that. UK alone can't do it.

You only need about a hundred (an estimation done while Russia was still the USSR and not its pathetic successor), which is why most nuclear deterrents set that number as a baseline.

Again, you're bordering into "RUSSIA STR0NK" territory here. Check yourself.

[Draco-Onis]

Wikipedia says 50 x 15KT weapons. Thermonuclear weapons run into the Megaton range. So really, not that many at all, couple of dozen.

Let's hope history remains that the US was the only country to ever use them and never again, the devastation modern nukes can dish out I don't think the world is ready to see that level of horror.

[Jessicka]

Let's hope history remains that the US was the only country to ever use them and never again, the devastation modern nukes can dish out I don't think the world is ready to see that level of horror.

Indeed, I hope that draws a line under 'why NATO aren't going to get actively involved'.

[PhaelixWW]

Let's hope history remains that the US was the only country to ever use them and never again, the devastation modern nukes can dish out I don't think the world is ready to see that level of horror.

Personally, I'd rather be vaporized instantly by a megaton-yield nuke than starved to a miserable death in a post-apocalyptic nuclear winter, though.

[szechuan]

Tulsi Gabbard Latest To Push Russian-Backed Conspiracy About U.S.-Backed Biological Labs In Ukraine

Elena Branson, charged Tuesday by American authorities for allegedly acting as a Russian agent, made donations to only one American politician, according to election filings by the Daily Beast: Gabbard.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksa...h=45d54b035522

[Easo]

You only need about a hundred (an estimation done while Russia was still the USSR and not its pathetic successor), which is why most nuclear deterrents set that number as a baseline.

Again, you're bordering into "RUSSIA STR0NK" territory here. Check yourself.

Estimation done by whom? When? What yields (why do you think we moved away from the megaton range?)? What are the targets, cities? Army bases? Both? Why did USA and USSR both make so many nuclear weapons if 100 are enough?
Stop the damn underestimation...

[Elegiac]

Estimation done by whom? When? What yields (why do you think we moved away from the megaton range?)? What are the targets, cities? Army bases? Both? Why did USA and USSR both make so many nuclear weapons if 100 are enough?

It's almost as if states are not purely rational actors and can make decisions contrary to their own interests. Imagine that.

[Jessicka]

You barely have enough for military bases. Everything is based on four submarines (4), of which only one is on active patrol. De facto that means no second strike capability, as subs are quite unlikely to have a base to return to load the other half.

You think 165 x 0.5MT warheads ready to launch is "barely enough for military bases"? It's getting on for an order of magnitude above capacity to end civilisation as we know it.

Estimation done by whom? When? What yields (why do you think we moved away from the megaton range?)? What are the targets, cities? Army bases? Both? Why did USA and USSR both make so many nuclear weapons if 100 are enough?
Stop the damn underestimation...

Fundamentally because dick waving insanity of madmen. The argument is making damn sure your missiles get through.

Research done by actual scientists who do disaster management are the answer, whole bunch of papers linked here https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/uk-...-making#_edn12

[PhaelixWW]

Why did USA and USSR both make so many nuclear weapons if 100 are enough?

Uh... this is pretty well documented, you know.

[Forogil]

??? 500 nukes, you need 50 at 15 kilotons to create nuclear winter and end the planet?

It's unclear. Some suggest that you need 200 or so; but it very much depends and the models aren't that clear.

It's not the nuclear explosions themselves, but the soot generated by the fires getting high into the atmosphere that cause it - so it depends on how much soot is generated (which depends on the building materials etc) and whether it actually goes high into the atmosphere (which also depend on how violent the fire-storm becomes). For some reason people aren't dropping small nukes on various cities to fully investigate that.

Needs a few more KT than that, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were about 8-10 I think, no nuclear winter. The biggest Thermonuclear bombs are about 20 megatons, a handful of those have been tested as well without nuclear winter.

The big bombs are mostly wasted effort - and a sign of low accuracy, and most tests were underground or without combustible material so that you didn't get that much soot - so the fact that they didn't generate nuclear winters doesn't tell us much.

[Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang]

On the very large of nukes the US and USSR had, lets not forget that there were many more use case than strategic weapons, of which a fair share would target the enemy's missile silos first.
The majority were arguably of the tactical kind, to be used on the battlefield in a variety of ways, from grenade launcher to anti-air missile at some point.

[YUPPIE]

it seems Joe Biden is extra pissed off today, in regards to the American journalist killed. He then topped it off warning Putin gravely that if he so much as throws a rock to the transport convoys in Ukraine, he's going to fucking die pretty much.

If Putin calls it a bluff and goes through with attacking those vehicles anyway: At that moment, if Biden carries out his threat, he will cement himself as the most badass president IMO. If it is called as a bluff though, and he does nothing, I will lose all respect for him.

Go Joe Biden.

[Shadowferal]

A long while back there was a study that said 500 cobalt nukes (100 ton yield) could likely wipe out the entire planet.

[Flarelaine]

Why would SA ever side with Russia?

They are both autocracies with a callous disregard for human rights whose economy would hardly function without supplying fossil fuels to the West.

[Corvus]

Things must be going so well for Putin that he is begging his soon to be overlord Xi to come to his aid.

[Kaleredar]

Things must be going so well for Putin that he is begging his soon to be overlord Xi to come to his aid.

I don't think China is too eager to be slapped with enormous sanctions either. Not over something they have literally no stake in with Ukraine. China's best bet is to literally do nothing and just continue dealing to both sides.

[Zaydin]

They are both autocracies with a callous disregard for human rights whose economy would hardly function without supplying fossil fuels to the West.

The Saudis also get a ton of military equipment from the US. If anything the Saudis would more likely be trying to stay neutral to sell oil to both sides.

[Jessicka]

Things must be going so well for Putin that he is begging his soon to be overlord Xi to come to his aid.

And China will continue to look after China. War in Ukraine is not one of their shared interests.

[Gorsameth]

Yeah China has no interest in supplying Russia with weapons and risk itself getting sanctioned when it has absolutely nothing to gain by doing so.

[Kaleredar]

The Saudis also get a ton of military equipment from the US. If anything the Saudis would more likely be trying to stay neutral to sell oil to both sides.

Moreover the longer this goes on and Russia is effectively removed from the global oil market the more Saudi Arabia is able to sell to Europe and the US and the less competition they have.