5 ms·

From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapons_and_Ukraine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapons_and_Ukraine Pavlo Rizanenko, a member o

by 37 5y ago

From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapons_and_Ukraine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapons_and_Ukraine Pavlo Rizanenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament told USA Today that Ukraine may have to arm themselves with their own nuclear weapons if the United States and other world leaders do not hold up their end of the agreement. He said "We gave up nuclear weapons because of this agreement. Now, there's a strong sentiment in Ukraine that we made a big mistake." He also said that, "In the future, no matter how the situation is resolved in Crimea, we need a much stronger Ukraine. If you have nuclear weapons, people don't invade you."

N19PEDL2 5y ago
I would be curious to know what is the nuclear latency of Ukraine, i.e. the technological distance from having a complete working device. Ukraine operates 4 nuclear reactors and Soviet-era expertise on nuclear weapons is likely still present in the form of (retired) engineers and scientists, so they are likely able to develop it again. This said, building a credible nuclear deterrence also requires at least one element of the nuclear triad, i.e. the capability to "deliver the gadget". In practical terms, more expertise to gain and more investments to do.
- hyperman1 5y ago
  For delivery, I've always wondered if it was possible to smuggle them in, say, by car. No need for a rocket or anything. Then hide them in the target country in some underground facility or whatever in a big city. If Ukraine did that 10 years ago with Moscow, they could trigger them the second their border was violated. This is probably laughably unpractical, I just don't know why. Radiation? Maintenance? Just the fact that you can only use them, not threaten with them?
  - edmcnulty101 5y ago
    This is interesting. Curious about this as well. Rent a warehouse or storage unit and just keep the nukes there.
  - N19PEDL2 5y ago
    > you can only use them, not threaten with them IMO this. The real reason of existence of nuclear weapons is deterrence, not actual retaliation. If you reach the point of nuclear retaliation, then you only get MAD (mutual assured destruction) and no one wins. > For delivery, I've always wondered if it was possible to smuggle them in, say, by car. No need for a rocket or anything. If you're interested on this possibility, a good movie I can recommend is "The Sum of All Fears" (2002).
  - justaj 5y ago
    Wouldn't the nuclear signature of something like that be trivially detectable though?

by 37 5y ago

N19PEDL2 5y ago

I would be curious to know what is the nuclear latency of Ukraine, i.e. the technological distance from having a complete working device. Ukraine operates 4 nuclear reactors and Soviet-era expertise on nuclear weapons is likely still present in the form of (retired) engineers and scientists, so they are likely able to develop it again. This said, building a credible nuclear deterrence also requires at least one element of the nuclear triad, i.e. the capability to "deliver the gadget". In practical terms, more expertise to gain and more investments to do.

hyperman1 5y ago
For delivery, I've always wondered if it was possible to smuggle them in, say, by car. No need for a rocket or anything. Then hide them in the target country in some underground facility or whatever in a big city. If Ukraine did that 10 years ago with Moscow, they could trigger them the second their border was violated. This is probably laughably unpractical, I just don't know why. Radiation? Maintenance? Just the fact that you can only use them, not threaten with them?
- edmcnulty101 5y ago
  This is interesting. Curious about this as well. Rent a warehouse or storage unit and just keep the nukes there.
- N19PEDL2 5y ago
  > you can only use them, not threaten with them IMO this. The real reason of existence of nuclear weapons is deterrence, not actual retaliation. If you reach the point of nuclear retaliation, then you only get MAD (mutual assured destruction) and no one wins. > For delivery, I've always wondered if it was possible to smuggle them in, say, by car. No need for a rocket or anything. If you're interested on this possibility, a good movie I can recommend is "The Sum of All Fears" (2002).
- justaj 5y ago
  Wouldn't the nuclear signature of something like that be trivially detectable though?