Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-23 and Invasion

[Tamas]

Are those really the power plant's buildings they are firing tracers around?

According to Google Maps, it is one of the power plant buildings, though I understand that the reactors are behind and to the left of the camera.  The building being fired on and set on fire is for maintenance crews, if I understand English transliteration of Ukrainian correctly.  Can you make do without maintenance personnel?

EDIT:  Correction, it's a training facility for maintenance personnel.  Won't need those for a while.

What could possibly break down in a nuclear plant?

[The Brain]

Fun fact: a lot of Ukraine's nuclear fuel is made in Sweden. For some reason they wanted to get out of only having a Russian supplier.

[The Brain]

Is that a fire engine on its way?

[Tamas]

Is that a fire engine on its way?

I think so. This is surreal.

I wonder if the Russian soldiers know where they are exactly and what could happen.

[The Brain]

Is that a fire engine on its way?

Its way home at least.

[Tamas]

So if they do end up melting down the reactors, within how many hours should people in Poland and Hungary start heading west?

[The Brain]

Would be interesting to know when exactly the plant shut down the reactors. If they have, but not doing it when enemies are fighting their way in would be weird. It would be strange if the Russians decide to stop the cooling of the cores. But then Russia is strange.

[Tamas]

Ukrainians claim the firefighters were shot upon as they approached.

[mongers]

I lived through the last decade of the Cold War as an adult and can remember a good chunk of the 1970s confrontations as well, but I've never been more nervous about the international situation than now.

From talking with older friends, I think the only other time people will have been more nervous about world conflict would have been during those dark days of October 62.

[Grey Fox]

Time to get the West Nukes ready.

[The Brain]

So if they do end up melting down the reactors, within how many hours should people in Poland and Hungary start heading west?

I get the impression that local winds are blowing towards the south or east right now.

[viper37]

Does it really matter how the Romans used the term, if everyone understands what is meant by it today?

"Deci" is right there in the word.
I understand that language is flexible and meanings change over time, but part of that process is resisting boneheaded changes.

From Oxford language:
Decimate:
kill, destroy, or remove a large percentage or part of.
"the project would decimate the fragile wetland wilderness"

[mongers]

Al Jazeera have been showing a report this evening from Odessa, it shows hundreds of volunteers building sandbag barricades along the sea front.

In the background are the Russian landing ships, not silhouettes on the horizon, but in close, they can be barely a handful of miles offshore.

[viper37]

I wonder if the Russian soldiers know where they are exactly and what could happen.

Yes.  Finland, Norway, Sweden and a whole bunch of NATO countries would be affected by the fallout, like Tchernobyl, I guess.

[Admiral Yi]

Heard on NPR that the two parties met and agreed on humanitarian corridors for people fleeing.