Are there any weapons in the Ukrainian arsenal that could feasibly hit the Kremlin, or if they had intel as to Putin’s location could they hit him with a Hellfire equivalent?
I believe that it would be a huge mistake for NATO and especially the US to get involved in any US soldiers killing Russians as it will help Putin get patriotic support from Russian citizens. But if Ukraine struck hard, even just once, I wonder what Putin’s next moves would be. Or if they successfully killed him, I wonder what the remaining government would do.
Funny you ask that. I was just thinking something similar earlier today. Some Doolittle’s Raiders type hit.
I spent time working with their military, but it was all Airborne and Mech’ Infantry types, so I have no firsthand knowledge of any such capability in their arsenal.
The distance between the two capitals is 470 miles, so whatever system and or platform is used would have to be capable of reaching that far. Now move eastward in Ukraine and it would obviously be less (Google says 280 miles from Moscow to the Ukraine border).
Cruise missiles? Short-range ballistic missiles? I dunno what they’ve got. An air strike would likely result in a one-way ticket for scarce and valuable aircraft that might be better utilized in-country.
I’m worried about that in any situation other than full surrender by Ukraine. That’s what got me to thinking of other more extreme options, like Ukraine targeting Moscow or Putin directly.
I think the idea that Ukraine can disable enough tanks and kill enough soldiers that Putin tells all troops to return home is a fantasy. The plausible answer of civilians and Russian leaders forcefully removing Putin is likely not going to happen anytime this year, meaning tens or hundreds of thousands more dead Ukrainians and Russian soldiers.
Cutting the head off might work, it just depends on what kind of succession plan Putin has and how loyal to “Putinism” those men are.
Ukraine has/had a budding missile program. Not sure how much they actually possess in terms of deployable assets though. Even if they did, pot shots at Moscow/Pootie Boi would be very unlikely to produce worthwhile results. Similarly, attacks on Russian border cities would be unlikely to have any positive results and may even prove counterproductive in terms of Russian response and international support. Arms shipments would likely be reduced for one. As much as my “devil” side would kinda dig some Russian cities getting the same treatment that they are handing out, my “angel” side says retaliatory strikes at civilian targets is bad. Ukraine is better off using their assets to kill the filthy bastards incountry.
On that note I saw a report that Belarus is literally flooded with thousands of Russian dead and wounded coming back from northern Ukraine. So, go Ukes!
Good! I certainly hope so. May the US long feed the fight.
While I think that most things are possible but doubt this scenario being plausible. Putin is fantastically protected. He and the Ruskies would have plenty of warning if incursion of their air space occurred. I suspect that they only way that Putin is killed or made to go away is if he voluntarily does so, or some sort of military coupe happens that makes it happen. neither seems likely to me.
Only if it comes from within. I do not think Ukraine/NATO/U.S. has the ability to pierce Russian Secret Service (or whatever they call the bodyguards for Putin) and “put one behind the ear”. It will have to come from inside the Russian hierarchy, and the bad part about that is it would only likely occur if Putin pushed things right to the “press the red button” line.
We, as in anyone but other Russians, ain’t gonna do shit against Putin, whether we attempt to or not. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail if things ever got that bad.
Was talking about this with a buddy today. Ukraine going asymmetrical with the Russians. Maybe you could Doolittle/Rusk them? More likely have some Ukrainian special forces take down infrastructure.
But the problem is that any UKie strike on Russia just feeds into the Russian narrative, so it better be a real impact, not a symbolic jesture.
Has no strategic military value, and just confirms Putin’s version of things and motivates Russians, mil and non, to support Putin. Seems a lose lose idea to me. Now if they had intel as to Putin’s location…
Ukraine is winning the PR war by a landslide, and they need to keep it that way.
If anything, I see Putin doing what he did before with Chechnya, setting off explosives in apartment blocks and killing his own people, blaming Ukraine for it to bolster his narrative.
That’s almost certain to happen at this point. Combine it with the “hardening of hearts” the Ukrainians are getting towards the Russian people right now, and I fear a massive anti-Russian terror campaign in the coming months and years. Less likely to happen if Russia pulls out, but still possible. We saw similar from the Chechen Wars.
The fact that you actually believe that is ridiculous, and more than a little sad. Russia has invaded Ukraine, not once, not even twice, but three times in the last decade. It has stolen territory that has been Ukrainian, and recognized as Ukrainian, for decades. It has both started and prolonged a “civil war”, costing many, many lives. And now it is attempting to seize the entire country because Putin wants to restore the Russian Empire to its former glory. (or was it NATO expansion, neo-nazis, nuclear weapons, bio-labs, genocide, or whatever the excuse is this week? Russian propaganda keeps changing their minds so fast its hard to keep up!) With all of that in mind, you think that the country being invaded is the aggressor, and the Russian bear is merely attempting to defend its cubs? Good lord dude, you really are out there. I generally don’t like putting people on the ignore list, because stupid posts warrant a response, but damn, you’re making a strong case for it.
Remember a couple weeks ago, when I brought up social media as a tool for intel collection and information warfare/propaganda? Its interesting that a couple of the apologists here primarily provide memes and social media posts to make their cases. As I’ve said, the information campaign on social media and infotainment sites has been effective.
Indeed. Memes are just digital propaganda posters. Propaganda flows from all sides, but it is interesting to note which side relies heavily on memes when making an argument.
