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BoltgunOnHisHip t1_itlbbqi wrote

Reply to comment by mysticalfruit in Russia's defense chief warns of 'dirty bomb' provocation by letschangethename

You don't use tactical nukes on infrastructure. He'll use them on troop concentrations, especially if they try to retake Crimea. The only access to the peninsula is a tiny choke point, and Ukraine would have to mass its troops there since going in piecemeal would result in the Russians cutting them apart piecemeal, and despite the Russian navy's poor performance, Ukraine doesn't have the ability to mount a naval invasion.

Attacks on infrastructure (theoretically) employ full scale weapons. You want to make it as hard as possible to repair if you hit that point, and there's no reason to hold back.

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mysticalfruit t1_itlcy9o wrote

Or just let Crimea sit cut off. Make it a liability for Russia. Let the Russian navy engage in a resupply mission while getting harassed.

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BoltgunOnHisHip t1_itldl2y wrote

There's 2.5 million people on the peninsula. Putting them into a siege situation as their ostensible liberators probably wouldn't play well.

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mysticalfruit t1_itly7ta wrote

That is true. Honestly, I have expect Russia to bomb Crimea and blame Ukraine.

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BoltgunOnHisHip t1_itm0c0r wrote

The trick here is that the civilian population of Crimea is largely culturally Russian. Not that I think that gives Russian any special claim to the place, but it does make the civilians there (seemingly) more compliant. If Russia starts blasting them with cruise missiles and shit that could change really quickly.

So currently Crimea's in this kind of limbo where the status quo is unlikely to change.

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mysticalfruit t1_itm0xr6 wrote

Russia hasn't ever demonstrated that it gives a particular fuck about Russians.

If putin could use Crimea in a way to Ukraine, ever at a high civilian cost, he'd do it in a nanosecond.

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S3guy t1_itvzo52 wrote

Meh, most of those that stayed are traitors and openly support the Russians. Let them suffer the consequences of their shitty decisions. If Ukraine takes it back, give em a choice between working in prison camps or departing for russia forever.

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