acrashb

That is a remarkable speech.  Borrell is trying to shock everyone, with blunt statements, into having an adult discussion.  
I hope it works.  Contrast Borrell's speech with last year's, somewhat self-congratulatory and focussed mostly on non-existential issues: Address by President Charles Michel to the annual EU Ambassadors’ conference - Consilium (europa.eu)
I don't know how, but somehow Borrell's positions need to become entrenched.

As telling, after they chat with the female factory worker, there is no Western handshake / grip-and-grin / thank you for your hard work, the people inspecting just turn their backs on her and carry on talking.  Culture.  And the guy operating the high-tech laser cutter isn't wearing safety glasses 🙄 in spite of sparks flying.  

And a funny from DarthPutin:
 

So, it was well worth the effort, no? Actions like this are for internal consumption, not for the effect on the enemy.
I guess a thermobaric explosion would have pushed or pulled some of the rail cars or the other vehicles on the road. None of that happened.
I'm in the missile camp, but I can't explain two things:
 Why did nobody see or hear it coming down? Why weren't the Russians not at least trying to shoot it down? Which should have been visible, too?

A good comparison is the German V weapon campaign in 1944-1945.  A ton of effort and cash expended to achieve a physical effect on the targets that was comparable or less than conventional bombing during the Battle of Britain.  The value of the campaign to the Nazi regime was to reinforce a myth of superiority and to reassure the populace that the enemy could be struck despite the grim battlefield situation.

As telling, after they chat with the female factory worker, there is no Western handshake / grip-and-grin / thank you for your hard work, the people inspecting just turn their backs on her and carry on talking.  Culture.  And the guy operating the high-tech laser cutter isn't wearing safety glasses 🙄 in spite of sparks flying.  

And a funny from DarthPutin:
 

And a funny from DarthPutin:
 

For those still thinking about Nuke, apparently Colin Powell did so during the Gulf War and was appalled by the number of tactical nukes required to be effective.  So anything by Putin is likely to be symbolic.
 
 

And a funny from DarthPutin:
 

For those still thinking about Nuke, apparently Colin Powell did so during the Gulf War and was appalled by the number of tactical nukes required to be effective.  So anything by Putin is likely to be symbolic.
 
 

One thing about the truck bomb SVBIED theory is that should it prove to be true, it's chilling statement of where Ukraine's willing to go. Should Russia drop a nuke, Kyiv is saying that Russia can expect this sort of thing in Moscow. And given the FSB's signal intelligence failures to start the war and it's failure since to competently track down Dugina's killers, it's a message that will resonate in the Kremlin. It's easy to concentrate on Russia's nuclear signaling but we should never lose sight of how Ukraine signals back.

And a funny from DarthPutin:
 

And a funny from DarthPutin:
 

And a funny from DarthPutin:
 

And a funny from DarthPutin:
 

And a funny from DarthPutin:
 

And a funny from DarthPutin:
 

For those still thinking about Nuke, apparently Colin Powell did so during the Gulf War and was appalled by the number of tactical nukes required to be effective.  So anything by Putin is likely to be symbolic.
 
 

And a funny from DarthPutin:
 

And a funny from DarthPutin:
 

Mid terms are still not certain, yet.  A lot can happen in a month. Even then, the Senate, both parties, is very pro UKR. A republican Congress can get its knickers in a twist all it wants,  but the Senate will stay the course. 

Collecting them as part of Russian victory conditions.

And now for some Russo-Ukraine war humour.  How not to carry your stolen macbook:
2022 Darwin Award: Steel Macbook Armor (darwinawards.com)
 

For those scoffing at Russia preparing defences prompted by the Tweet showing a linear obstacle being created, I might suggest that many would say something along the lines of "they've had months to prepare defences but didn't bother ... how amateurish" had they not done so - in fact there are a bunch of posts to this effect on this thread regarding ground that Ukrainian forces have recently liberated.  Integrated obstacles are a key element of any deliberate defence and are as relevant in the 21st Century as they have been since the advent of warfare as I'm sure @The_Capt will pitch in and confirm.  If this debate is to remain informed, we need to beware the confirmation bias that is evident from this criticism of Russia preparing defences as well as other related influences.  Objective and informed analysis should be our watchwords.