• FarceMultiplier
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    10 months ago

    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.

        • Noodle07@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

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

          • Oderus@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            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
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              10 months ago

              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
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                10 months 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.

              • AnAngryAlpaca@lemm.ee
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                10 months ago

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

              • Oderus@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

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

    • xantoxis@lemmy.world
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      10 months 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.