Ukraine and Russia are flashbacks to World Wars One and World War II

Echo opinion published in the Winchester Star, a newspaper in Winchester, Virginia.

Whether he intended to or not, Vladimir Putin may well have initiated World War III. 

In the years since WWII, the possibility of a World War 3 has not been a stretch of the imagination with continuous conflicts throughout the Middle East

He must be stopped before that comes about.

England’s Neville Chamberlain failed to appease Adolf Hitler. This diplomatic blunder led to World War II. Perhaps Chamberlain could’ve stopped Hitler, when he was still weak. He failed to do so. I appeasing Hitler, ,Chamberlain gave the measly former German Corporal who was wounded in World War I the strength of the evil that was allowed to grow. (Anchorage Daily News)

Chamberlain's appeasement failed.

In the 21st century, Vladimir Putin's unprovoked invasion of a newly democratic nation, citing imaginary threats to Russia, indiscriminate killing of civilians, reckless attack on a nuclear power facility, alleged and probably true use of cluster bombs on civilian targets, and myriad other outrageous and thoroughly unjustifiable actions against Ukraine cannot go unanswered.

But what can the free world do, especially when the madman openly threatens a nuclear response to unspecified actions? Thus far, aside from economic sanctions that will fall most disastrously on the Russian people, about whom Putin cares not at all, and political damnation and isolation by much of the free world, the most promising moves on the part of the U.S. come from our top military leaders in the form of backchannel communications with their counterparts in Russia.

But the danger of Putin unleashing nuclear attacks on those who assist Ukraine in ways he finds unacceptable is real despite Russian military restraint.

One hopes our and other nations’ covert intelligence agencies are working overtime to find ways to disrupt and subvert Putin’s ability to command and control his war machine. Every option in that regard should be on the table and exercised aggressively. It’s entirely feasible that the Russian military hierarchy would lend a hand surreptitiously.

Is this brinkmanship? Quite possibly. Is it worth the risk? Yes.

James Sherry, in Frederick County

Response from JohnLF: "Maybe the issue of stopping Putin is not just about oil and gas prices in the United States. Maybe, there are a whole lot more people and nations in the world who are concerned about what might happen now, such as nuclear holocausts and/or, a few years in the future, when major coastal cities and lands start being flooded by the rising oceans, and the flora and fauna starts dying due to Climate Change. One thing that is known: some day we are going to run out of oil. Perhaps it is time to forget Trump's dogma that America has to be #1 all the time. (IOW, maybe, we should take pride in being last in fossil fuel consumption!)

World War One was caused by one man- Kaiser Wilhelm II (Habsburg), because his only heir, the Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, were murdered in Sarajevo.  

German Kaiser Wilhelm II (159-1941)

World War Two was caused by one man, Adolf Hitler, a former corporal in the German Army who was wounded in World War One and diagnosed with a psychiatric induced blindness.

World War Three is caused by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, because he is delusional and wants to be a Czar.  Unfortunately, evil Vladimir, Mr. Putin has obviously forgotten what happened to the Russian monarchy and Czar Nicholas II (Romanov), and the tragic slaughter of his family.