• @chemical_cutthroat
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    281 day ago

    Scorched Earth? Hoping that the drone wouldn’t be noticed and they could say that Chernobyl is too dangerous to be left to Ukraine? Boredom? Pure psychopathy? To cover up a nuclear strike? Someone meant to order Chipotle and signals got crossed? Roll a d6 and see where it lands.

    • @[email protected]
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      141 day ago

      You missed the obvious one: Sending a message that they are willing to escalate.

      The strike hit the “sarcophage” that was built to contain the ruins of the reactor that blew up in 1986.

      The message is “we will risk large scale nuclear contamination”. Remember how a few months back they used an ICBM w.o. a nuclear warhead for some missile strike, they could have done with a regular missile?

      Combine the two messages: “We have the missiles”+“we will risk large scale nuclear contamination” -> “We are serious about the nuke business. Don’t get in our way.”

      • bluGill
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        61 day ago

        nuclear was claimed as a nato red line when this war first started. They are testing nato to see if it is really a redline.

    • trollercoaster
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      1 day ago

      To cover up a nuclear strike?

      That won’t work, because it’s possible to very precisely determine the origin of radioactive fallout by analysing the types and quantities of different isotopes in it. Also (above ground/water) nuclear weapon detonations do have very distinct optical signatures that can be detected by very simple instruments mounted on satellites, while underground nuclear detonations do have distinct seismic signatures that can be detected and located with the same equipment used to monitor earthquakes. For underwater detonations, I’m sure there are acoustic signatures that will do the same.