Russia blowing up the Nova Kakhovka dam is an incomprehensible war crime. Among other things, it drains water from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, water that is needed for cooling. They are trying to generate a widespread disaster.

They must be stopped, immediately, without hesitation. This is unacceptable behavior, crossing every red line we have no matter our politics, without any doubt.

This demands a response from Europe, the world, not just Ukraine.

@prologic@twtxt.net I said nothing about an international violent response. You added that 🤔

If someone punches you in the face over and over again, you don’t stand there and take it to avoid “begetting violence”. You stop them from punching you, and do your best to ensure they never punch you again. That’s not “violence begets violence”. That’s rationality.

@prologic@twtxt.net I don’t agree. I think he’s a thug who benefits a lot if everybody thinks he’s a madman.

All through this war, there has been a repeated cycle:

• We can’t give Ukraine weapon X; that will provoke Putin and he’ll drop a nuke!
  
• Russian propagandists threaten they’re about to drop nukes
  
• After lots of hand wringing, some country gives weapon X to Ukraine
  
• No nukes are dropped
  

We’re on like the 5th iteration of this. Now it’s about F-16 fighter jets. In the meantime, a lot of Ukrainians AND Russians are dying en masse.

@prologic@twtxt.net yeah, it’s a horrible waste.

@stigatle@yarn.stigatle.no I think I understand NATO’s hesitation, but at the same time if this drags on and on for years then it causes massive loss of life and is even more dangerous for everyone. If that nuclear power plant melts down, whether because Russia causes it directly or because of an “accident”, then all of Europe can be blanketed with fallout. The longer this goes on, the more likely that possibility (and worse ones!) becomes.

That is scary to be so close to Russia. I hope you’re doing OK.

@prologic@twtxt.net I tried to call him but he wouldn’t answer the phone 😞

I found this to be a good thread on the subject of how the media is covering the dam explosion. The author, Timothy Snyder, is a history professor at Yale and has consistently good commentary on the war in Ukraine.