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Comment by piokoch | Hacker News Reader

Yes, they are aware. Russia wanted to demonstrated that they can blow satellite from the ground - from the military perspective this is important as they can blind to some extent NATO (or Chinese) battle control systems.

This is demonstration of their force, which in reality is not that great, but Russia is a master in the game of pretending that they are immensely powerful. This gives them a lot of political benefits and leverage. This is kind of action as grouping troops on the Ukrainian border or flooding Polish-Belarusian border with migrants, etc.

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That their force is “not that great” would maybe be true if we were still in the era where wars are won with infantry and tanks, at least comparing Russia to NATO and mostly due to poor hardware and not a lack of manpower: but this hasn’t been the reality for almost a hundred years. Russia is one of the worlds largest nuclear powers, there will be no all out conventional war with them or any other similarly equipped nation without global nuclear armageddon.

they wouldn't gain leverage if their force just wasn't that great and it all would be just a bluff. I mean, if someone on HN knows that the US government would know that, too. I think what they demonstrate is unpredictability and trigger happiness. people keep their hands of others if they might go off easily.

We're still in the era where wars are won with infantry and tanks and planes and other materiel.

You don't hold ground or support your allies with nukes.

Air superiority and ground control is irrelevant when major cities of your country is being nuked. A pyrrhic victory is guaranteed which is the entire point of a nuclear arsenal.

Wars are not won with nukes, they are lost with them.

That’s exactly my point, which is why nobody will invade you in the first place even if your arsenal is “inferior”.

Just ask Japan.

You don’t invade anyone with tanks and infantry if they have nukes tho

We are in an era where observation satellites are critical to military power.

And sending a nuclear bomb for a lost western military satellite would not be an appropriate response.

>This is demonstration of their force, which in reality is not that great

Ahm, they can still blow us all up with thermonuclear weapons, if they decide that its necessary.

... Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is a war room!

(I mean only general Ripper could have said a phrase like this ;-)

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