[imagesource: Thibault Camus / EPA-EFE]

Yesterday, Vladimir Putin threatened “consequences you have never faced in your history” for “anyone who tries to interfere with us”.

Us being Russia, and their invasion to take control of Ukraine.

Putin also took aim at what he called America’s “empire of lies” during his speech to essentially justify declaring war on Russia’s neighbours.

I guess the idea was to scare off potential Western interference so that Russian troops can continue their march through Ukraine.

Here’s The New York Times:

Given Russia’s nuclear arsenal, he said, “there should be no doubt that any potential aggressor will face defeat and ominous consequences should it directly attack our country.” He added: “All necessary decisions have been taken in this regard.”

…Stephen Walt, a professor of international affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School, said the talk of nuclear conflict was “worrisome.” “But I find it difficult to believe that any world leader, including Mr. Putin, would seriously contemplate using nuclear weapons in any of the scenarios we have here, for the simple reason that they understand the consequences,” he said.

There’s genuine worry that Putin won’t stop at Ukraine.

He has the backing of Belarus and its mad president, and could possibly look at Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia if he seeks to get the old USSR gang back together.

Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia will also be worried about the instability in the region should other major global powers get involved.

It’s believed that Chernobyl, the nuclear power plant, has been seized by Russian forces. For obvious reasons, reports VICE, this is worrying:

…experts worry that on top of the primary death and destruction associated with war, the invasion could create a permanent environmental catastrophe associated with nuclear material and other toxic chemicals stored throughout the regions…

“The east of Ukraine is heavily industrial, full of chemical factories, run-down mines and thermal power plants. The potential for an environmental catastrophe to add to the horrific humanitarian crisis is enormous,” said Richard Pearshouse, head of crisis and environment at Amnesty International in Geneva.

Ukraine has a total of 15 nuclear power reactors at four different sites. If any of those were to be struck, radioactive waste could contaminate surrounding areas for countless generations.

In December, Craig Hooper, founder of the Themistocles AG national security consultancy, warned that turning Ukraine into a “dystopian landscape, pockmarked by radioactive exclusion zones, would be an extreme method to obtain the defensive zone Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to want.”

We break briefly for a short explainer from The Guardian on why Putin is waging war:

Everything is greatly simplified in a video shorter than four minutes but it covers the basics.

So just how well thought out is this invasion into Ukraine? Some experts are questioning his mental stability off the back of his recent speeches.

More from The Guardian:

They worry about a 69-year-old man whose tendency towards insularity has been amplified by his precautions against Covid, leaving him surrounded by an ever-shrinking coterie of fearful obedient courtiers.

He appears increasingly uncoupled from the contemporary world, preferring to burrow deep into history and a personal quest for greatness.

It’s a good thing Russia doesn’t have a stockpile of 6 000 nuclear warheads. Oh, wait.

One senior French official called Putin  “paranoid” and accused him of “losing his sense of reality, to say it politely” following a speech he gave on Monday.

It’s a far cry from Putin’s 2017 visit to the palace of Versailles, where he “descended from a helicopter carrying a bunch of flowers and complemented the Macrons on their tans”.

I reckon it’s safe to assume he’s said the same to Donald Trump.

Czech President Milos Zeman called the Russian leader a “madman” and decried his “despotic mindset”.

In a way, it’s a little Robert Mugabe-like but the chances of Russia rising up to boot Putin from power is just not plausible.

To keep up to speed with the latest, you can follow live updates on CNN and the BBC.

Also, be on the lookout for fake videos on social media, many of which are using footage from years ago or even video game footage.

[sources:nytimes&vice&guardian]