Joe90 wrote:
I heard fireworks at work tonight and I was almost sick with panic because I thought Russia was dropping bombs on us.
God I hate living like this, all I want to do is relax. Now I'm scared my phone is going to start beeping loud alerting me that we're under attack. I feel like disowning a phone, as I don't want to know when I'm going to die.
I think it would be good for you to take a break from news, especially those spreading via social media, which are used for psychological Warfare and misinformation these days. Stay calm and look at the facts:
-UK is one of few countries to possess a significant nuclear arsenal, meaning that nuking it, even if it wouldn't be a part of NATO, would be extremely dangerous for Russia. Yes, Russian arsenal dwarfs this of UK by orders of magnitude - but your country still have four nuclear submarines and over 120 nuclear missiles ready to fire back and is located close enough to hit major targets in Russia's territory with them.
-UK is an island country. That means troops cannot advance via means other than aircrafts and ships. Guess what? This is why UK does have a significant anti-air defenses and navy. Before any invasion would happen, Russia would have to severely weaken UK's anti-air defenses and destroy majority of warships. Otherwise, they would suffer heavy casualties both in terms of soldiers and equipment. This means that you would be informed about war long before any conventional bomb would be dropped on any city in UK and have time to take shelter. It wouldn't happen out of nowhere. There is like zero risk of you being waken up by sounds of bombs in the middle of the night.
-Attacking on multiple fronts would be way too exhausting for Russia. They have already deployed 1/4th of their forces in Ukraine. This means that targeting UK (which is a tough nut to crack for reasons listed above) as one if the first countries to wage war with, would waste way too much resources.
-NATO is currently deploying more forces to Baltic countries, Poland and Germany to act as a deterrent in case of any plans for expanded attack on Russia's end. Russia would have to get through us first. It is highly probable that it would, but we would slow the enemy advancement significantly. Even in case of nuclear strike, we would be targeted first because NATO ground forces would attack from this direction. Most likely you would have plenty of time to flee to countryside, where it would be safest, seeing that major cities and military installations are potential targets for nuclear strikes.
-There's a significant presence of Russian financial elite in the UK. In fact, this is their go-to country for business and many live there. It is highly probable that nuking it would cause oligarchs to overthrow Putin in matter of hours.
-Once again, remember about MAD doctrine. If you would follow political events in eastern Europe, what Putin actions were in case of Georgia (the country, not a state in USA) and Crimea, you would know that he has been pointing towards possibility of launching nuclear missiles in case of NATO intervention back then. It was the same in case of Russian backed, separatist uprising in Donetsk. I remember that when these events unfolded, one of my co-workers had panic attack as she was sure that A-bomb will get dropped on us any time now. Yet, we are still here.
-Putin goal for all these year is expanding Russia's influence in Eastern Europe. He is not waging a total war against the west, he is a man who sobs over fall of USSR and wants to see his country restored to its former position of power. He is ruthless, but it isn't in his interest to make the Russia a nuclear wasteland (along with most of the US and Europe). He wants to be treated and remembered as a great leader, not ending his life with nuclear holocaust or getting hunted and killed for causing one.
Joe, as an UK citizen, you are in super privileged position when it comes to safety both in case of war and in case of economic crisis (your country is the fifth wealthiest one on the whole globe). And yet, you panic like Russian forces are cutting into your country blitzkrieg-style as of now. I live less than 300 km (less than 185 miles) from Ukrainian's border. Poland also shares border with a part of Russia and Belarus, which is a Russian puppet state. I actually hear and see air-crafts flying above my head, delivering equipment and troops closer to border in case of invasion. And I am not sh*****g my pants, even though I have much higher stakes in all of this - two young daughters, that is.
Also, think of people who actually are fighting in Ukraine as of now. Civilians in Kiev make Molotov cocktails and are handed rifles as they prepare for the siege of the city. Many of those who volunteered to take up the arms have zero combat experience and have not even fired a rifle before. They are to be called as last resort forces and they know that they won't do much. But they still want to do something for their country and their capital. Missiles and artillery shells are already falling on their heads since last night. Yet, they are not committing mass suicide.
CHILL. Find something to do. Something fun. Take your mind off all of this. For your own sake.
Last edited by KMCIURA on 25 Feb 2022, 6:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
25 Feb 2022, 11:27 am
)
