In 1983 the world was almost destroyed in nuclear hell fire due to a computer error in a Soviet spy satellite. Thanks to Stanilslav Petrov's decision to listen to his gut instead of his orders the world was saved, but due to the findings of the Milgram Experiment in the 1960s it seems that his actions were the exception rather than the rule. Computer errors can occur at the drop of a hat, even in the 21st century, and a badly timed one can have some dire consequences.
August 2008: The Precursor
Since Putin gained the Presidency on December 31, 1999 and then won the election in March of 2000 he set about to act on his ambitions to restore Russia as a regional powerhouse, something it hadn't been since the end of the Cold War. He was in it for the long haul too, most of his early work consisted on foreign relations with the former Soviet states and economic developments in Russia proper. That was however until Georgia elected a pro Western government in 2003, causing relations between the two to sour. Then in 2008 Putin decided to recognize the territories held by rebels in the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia since the civil war in 1992, giving Russia the perfect opportunity to show Georgia who's boss. From this point on Putin would then entertain the idea of expansion into former territories, be it direct or indirect.
February 2010 - November 2013: A Brewing Storm
Viktor Yanukovych was elected President of Ukraine in February 2010, a crossroad in their society. Since the end of the Cold War Ukraine had slowly but surely grown more and more in favor of becoming more western aligned, eventually coming to a head in the early 2010s. Though it wasn't homogenous, many in Eastern Ukraine still had strong ties to Russia and many still spoke Russian. The Ukranian economy had also been depressed since independence and that was the main thing keeping it from joining the European Union in the near term. In November 2013 a trade deal with the European Union was in the works and was popular amongst the masses, but then Yanukovych unilaterally dismissed it and agreed to a loan from Russia in order to strengthen ties with them. That was a bad move.
November 2013 - February 2014: Euromaidan
A wave of protests ensued and lasted for the rest of 2013, in many ways it was a step away from a full blown coup. The protests became more intense after the new year, where it became a practical coup by February. By then: Parliament moved to oust Yanukovych, Russian oriented legislation was repealed, and the 2004 amendments to the constitution were restored after being overturned in 2010. But the revolution sowed the seeds for sectarian violence, and as a result Pro-Russian separatist groups began popping up in the east. Then, an unmarked invasion force began showing up in Crimea.
February - July 2014: Invasion and Civil War
I didn't take a genius to see that the "invaders" of Crimea were Russian, as it was shown that Putin himself ordered the objectives of the special forces. They held key locations of governing and commerce within the region and even overthrew the peninsula's local parliament. They then held a referendum on March 16, 2014 on the future status of Crimea and an overwhelming majority voted to be annexed. Though the authenticity of the result was doubted due to the presence of the special forces. This immediately resulted in an international backlash as the United States and its allies threw a series of political and economic sanctions towards Russia, they were also kicked out of the G8. It was then obvious to the west that the separatists in Eastern Ukraine were at the very least politically backed by Russia, but likely that they were suppling them funding and weapons. It looked as if the situation couldn't get more hairy, then a civilian plane was shot down.
July 17, 2014: MH17 Down
MH17 was a Malaysia Airlines flight en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam, and that flight route went right over the war zone. The plane was blown up by a surface to air missile over Donetsk, and despite denial from Russian officials it was clear that a Russia backed militia fired the shot. On the 23rd two Ukrainian military jets met the same fate in the same area, both events leading to more sanctions and East/West tensions unprecedented in the post Cold War era. Despite being nowhere near as tense as the atmosphere was during the Cuban Missile Crisis or the early 1980s it could still take a surprise action to set off the accelerator, and that came with a poorly timed computer error.
At 9:32 PM Moscow Time, the Main Centre For Missile Attack Warning receives a warning message from a spy satellite that experienced a computer error. Much like the incident in 1983, a satellite misinterpreted refracting light to be an incoming ICBM. However, this time the people manning the command center were following orders. The chain of command for launching nuclear weapons had little changed since the Cold War and 4 minutes later the warning makes its way to Putin, Cheget in hand. At 12:37 PM Mountain Time, NORAD receives an alert of their own, that several hundred nuclear missiles were being launched from the Russian Federation and were on their way to their targets in North America and Europe. Almost immediately word gets out to the Military and Government officials. By 2:40 Eastern Time President Obama, Vice President Biden, and their families are evacuated from the White House shortly after the former authorizes a counter attack. Around this time the Emergency Alert System alerts the masses and sirens blare across the western world.
The war lasts less than 3 hours, with every major city and military base in both countries being destroyed by nuclear blasts. The story is the same for much of Europe and Asia too, with Chinese cities surprisingly being nuked by Russian missiles, causing them to retaliate with their weapons against Russia. Now that the bombs fell, the worst is yet to come.
Donbass Apocalypse
A timeline by JenkinsJinkies
(Part 1: OTL Backstory)
A timeline by JenkinsJinkies
(Part 1: OTL Backstory)
August 2008: The Precursor
Since Putin gained the Presidency on December 31, 1999 and then won the election in March of 2000 he set about to act on his ambitions to restore Russia as a regional powerhouse, something it hadn't been since the end of the Cold War. He was in it for the long haul too, most of his early work consisted on foreign relations with the former Soviet states and economic developments in Russia proper. That was however until Georgia elected a pro Western government in 2003, causing relations between the two to sour. Then in 2008 Putin decided to recognize the territories held by rebels in the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia since the civil war in 1992, giving Russia the perfect opportunity to show Georgia who's boss. From this point on Putin would then entertain the idea of expansion into former territories, be it direct or indirect.
February 2010 - November 2013: A Brewing Storm
Viktor Yanukovych was elected President of Ukraine in February 2010, a crossroad in their society. Since the end of the Cold War Ukraine had slowly but surely grown more and more in favor of becoming more western aligned, eventually coming to a head in the early 2010s. Though it wasn't homogenous, many in Eastern Ukraine still had strong ties to Russia and many still spoke Russian. The Ukranian economy had also been depressed since independence and that was the main thing keeping it from joining the European Union in the near term. In November 2013 a trade deal with the European Union was in the works and was popular amongst the masses, but then Yanukovych unilaterally dismissed it and agreed to a loan from Russia in order to strengthen ties with them. That was a bad move.
November 2013 - February 2014: Euromaidan
A wave of protests ensued and lasted for the rest of 2013, in many ways it was a step away from a full blown coup. The protests became more intense after the new year, where it became a practical coup by February. By then: Parliament moved to oust Yanukovych, Russian oriented legislation was repealed, and the 2004 amendments to the constitution were restored after being overturned in 2010. But the revolution sowed the seeds for sectarian violence, and as a result Pro-Russian separatist groups began popping up in the east. Then, an unmarked invasion force began showing up in Crimea.
February - July 2014: Invasion and Civil War
I didn't take a genius to see that the "invaders" of Crimea were Russian, as it was shown that Putin himself ordered the objectives of the special forces. They held key locations of governing and commerce within the region and even overthrew the peninsula's local parliament. They then held a referendum on March 16, 2014 on the future status of Crimea and an overwhelming majority voted to be annexed. Though the authenticity of the result was doubted due to the presence of the special forces. This immediately resulted in an international backlash as the United States and its allies threw a series of political and economic sanctions towards Russia, they were also kicked out of the G8. It was then obvious to the west that the separatists in Eastern Ukraine were at the very least politically backed by Russia, but likely that they were suppling them funding and weapons. It looked as if the situation couldn't get more hairy, then a civilian plane was shot down.
July 17, 2014: MH17 Down
MH17 was a Malaysia Airlines flight en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam, and that flight route went right over the war zone. The plane was blown up by a surface to air missile over Donetsk, and despite denial from Russian officials it was clear that a Russia backed militia fired the shot. On the 23rd two Ukrainian military jets met the same fate in the same area, both events leading to more sanctions and East/West tensions unprecedented in the post Cold War era. Despite being nowhere near as tense as the atmosphere was during the Cuban Missile Crisis or the early 1980s it could still take a surprise action to set off the accelerator, and that came with a poorly timed computer error.
(Part 2: Point of Divergence)
August 1, 2014: A Day That Shall Live In Infamy
At 9:32 PM Moscow Time, the Main Centre For Missile Attack Warning receives a warning message from a spy satellite that experienced a computer error. Much like the incident in 1983, a satellite misinterpreted refracting light to be an incoming ICBM. However, this time the people manning the command center were following orders. The chain of command for launching nuclear weapons had little changed since the Cold War and 4 minutes later the warning makes its way to Putin, Cheget in hand. At 12:37 PM Mountain Time, NORAD receives an alert of their own, that several hundred nuclear missiles were being launched from the Russian Federation and were on their way to their targets in North America and Europe. Almost immediately word gets out to the Military and Government officials. By 2:40 Eastern Time President Obama, Vice President Biden, and their families are evacuated from the White House shortly after the former authorizes a counter attack. Around this time the Emergency Alert System alerts the masses and sirens blare across the western world.
The war lasts less than 3 hours, with every major city and military base in both countries being destroyed by nuclear blasts. The story is the same for much of Europe and Asia too, with Chinese cities surprisingly being nuked by Russian missiles, causing them to retaliate with their weapons against Russia. Now that the bombs fell, the worst is yet to come.
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