22 ms·

I can think of no good strategic reason to take over Chernobyl. I think Putin did it just to create terror. Knowing that the actual risk of a catastrophe is sma

by ttul 5y ago

I can think of no good strategic reason to take over Chernobyl. I think Putin did it just to create terror. Knowing that the actual risk of a catastrophe is small, it’s a low risk way to make everyone else terrified of what Russia might do. Low cost, high yield - if you are a despot.

jcranmer 5y ago
Chernobyl is along one of the very few roads into Kyiv from the north west of the Dnieper. If you're trying to surround Kyiv, you'd be very hardpressed to avoid going by Chernobyl.
adventured 5y ago
> I can think of no good strategic reason to take over Chernobyl. If you're going to try to annex Ukraine, you're going to take Chernobyl. Of course there are very good strategic reasons (including the location issue, as mentioned by another comment) to take over all nuclear facilities and electricity production in the nation you're trying to annex. What kind of annexation is it if you don't take the electricity production facilities and all the nuclear plants? If you do, what, leave all the nuclear power plants under the control of the Ukrainian Government and its proxies? It would be wildly irrational in terms of strategy. One of the first things you'd want to accomplish, if you can, is to seize utilities and be able to control their function (for all manner of reasons), as well as controlling anything nuclear related.
politician 5y ago
It's a great prize. They can blackmail the West for funds to maintain it forever now, then use the funds for other things like yachts.
- kadoban 5y ago
  That's not going to work at all. Russia would look weak asking, the West wouldn't be that stupid, and Russia has easier ways to do damage if they really want to start playing with nukes.
shrubble 5y ago
The Russians have access to the main rail line that goes into Kyiv from Chernobyl. And, they can't be attacked in that area with anything other than small-arms fire - anything explosive will be too great a risk to send radioactive dust into the air.
trhway 5y ago
>I can think of no good strategic reason to take over Chernobyl. that speaks good of you :) For Russia that allowed for one of the pillars of the current Russian propaganda - (the link below in Russian) "It has been discovered that Ukraine was making nuclear weapons in Chernobyl" https://news.ru/world/ukraina-rabotala-v-chernobyle-nad-sozdaniem-yadernoj-bomby/ https://news.ru/world/ukraina-rabotala-v-chernobyle-nad-sozd... "Existing high radiations levels allowed to hide that work" Granted that stupidity doesn't work outside of Russia. Unfortunately inside Russia it is a hit (together with "Ukraine making biological and chemical weapons to attack Russia")
- fnmLq 5y ago
- spaetzleesser 5y ago
  "Granted that stupidity doesn't work outside of Russia. Unfortunately inside Russia it is a hit (together with "Ukraine making biological and chemical weapons to attack Russia")" I know a few right wingers in the US who believe this too. They think Putin is a good guy who is cleaning up Ukraine.
- rad_gruchalski 5y ago
  I’ve been saying that this will be Russian story for Chernobyl. Mariupol is going to be another one. They’re destroying it so they can show on their propaganda tv “look Russians, this is what we found in Ukraine, this is why we had to liberate it”.
vogre 5y ago
Chernobyl is the backyard of Russia. Do you think Putin will just blow it up so radioactive dust can cover Moscow in few days? The plant is secured to prevent possible provocations like the one Ukrainians did in Zaporozhye.

by ttul 5y ago

jcranmer 5y ago

Chernobyl is along one of the very few roads into Kyiv from the north west of the Dnieper. If you're trying to surround Kyiv, you'd be very hardpressed to avoid going by Chernobyl.

adventured 5y ago

> I can think of no good strategic reason to take over Chernobyl. If you're going to try to annex Ukraine, you're going to take Chernobyl. Of course there are very good strategic reasons (including the location issue, as mentioned by another comment) to take over all nuclear facilities and electricity production in the nation you're trying to annex. What kind of annexation is it if you don't take the electricity production facilities and all the nuclear plants? If you do, what, leave all the nuclear power plants under the control of the Ukrainian Government and its proxies? It would be wildly irrational in terms of strategy. One of the first things you'd want to accomplish, if you can, is to seize utilities and be able to control their function (for all manner of reasons), as well as controlling anything nuclear related.

politician 5y ago

It's a great prize. They can blackmail the West for funds to maintain it forever now, then use the funds for other things like yachts.

kadoban 5y ago
That's not going to work at all. Russia would look weak asking, the West wouldn't be that stupid, and Russia has easier ways to do damage if they really want to start playing with nukes.

shrubble 5y ago

The Russians have access to the main rail line that goes into Kyiv from Chernobyl. And, they can't be attacked in that area with anything other than small-arms fire - anything explosive will be too great a risk to send radioactive dust into the air.

trhway 5y ago

>I can think of no good strategic reason to take over Chernobyl. that speaks good of you :) For Russia that allowed for one of the pillars of the current Russian propaganda - (the link below in Russian) "It has been discovered that Ukraine was making nuclear weapons in Chernobyl" https://news.ru/world/ukraina-rabotala-v-chernobyle-nad-sozdaniem-yadernoj-bomby/ https://news.ru/world/ukraina-rabotala-v-chernobyle-nad-sozd... "Existing high radiations levels allowed to hide that work" Granted that stupidity doesn't work outside of Russia. Unfortunately inside Russia it is a hit (together with "Ukraine making biological and chemical weapons to attack Russia")

fnmLq 5y ago
spaetzleesser 5y ago
"Granted that stupidity doesn't work outside of Russia. Unfortunately inside Russia it is a hit (together with "Ukraine making biological and chemical weapons to attack Russia")" I know a few right wingers in the US who believe this too. They think Putin is a good guy who is cleaning up Ukraine.
rad_gruchalski 5y ago
I’ve been saying that this will be Russian story for Chernobyl. Mariupol is going to be another one. They’re destroying it so they can show on their propaganda tv “look Russians, this is what we found in Ukraine, this is why we had to liberate it”.

vogre 5y ago

Chernobyl is the backyard of Russia. Do you think Putin will just blow it up so radioactive dust can cover Moscow in few days? The plant is secured to prevent possible provocations like the one Ukrainians did in Zaporozhye.