this post was submitted on 24 Aug 2023
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[–] FarceMultiplier@lemmy.ca 27 points 1 year ago (2 children)

This is a greater overall danger than many of you seem to realize. Their leader was a face and figurehead, the real power of Wagner mercenaries lies with the lieutenants. Without him, they are likely to splinter and become more brutal. Some are likely to be hired by the anti-Putin oligarchs, while others may align with Putin. This may result in Russia having to pull out of Ukraine, but that's not the end of this. Even if Putin is slammed out of power, that just results in an internal power struggle with deadly consequences. Those will not stay inside their borders.

[–] Astroturfed@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Woohoo unstable country with huge nuclear stockpile.

[–] AnAngryAlpaca@lemm.ee 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Is the nuclear stockpile as good as the military equipment they use in Ukraine?

[–] Noodle07@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There only needs to be 1 functional one for it to kill thousands or even millions

[–] Oderus@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It takes a lot to launch a nuke and land it accurately. I'm guessing Russia lost that ability years ago and they know it hence the sable rattling.

[–] JustZ@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't know though my instinct says you're overstating the complexity. Doesn't really need to "land accurately" so much as detonate above any target population. Could just even be conventional ordinance with a nuclear payload.

[–] Oderus@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

I know it's not simple. Many things need to work in a certain way so they need to be maintained. Batteries must be replaced, systems must be tested frequently and security is very high. This is all expensive and knowing how cheap Russia is and lax their maintenance is, I'm betting many components were stolen which makes a success lunch much less likely.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Russians have been successfully launching Soyuz rockets longer than Americans have been launching space shuttles.

[–] AnAngryAlpaca@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

Soyuz rockets do not sit in a stockpile for 40 years without maintenance before being launched.

[–] Oderus@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

One has nothing to do with each other though did you hear they just lost their Moon lander?

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Ask the Reddit brigade that got shelled to death back when the war first broke out.

[–] xantoxis@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

All true, but it does not depend on this specific group of folks or the inciting incident of their leader's death. Violent internal power struggle spilling across borders is practically guaranteed no matter who the actors are. Even if Putin lives a long life and dies of natural causes, that's coming.