Dear editor:
My heart hurts for the people of Ukraine. This war is an astonishing act of brutality and must be stopped as it threatens millions of innocent people and foreshadows ongoing slaughter and illegal annexation by evil regimes.
We were here before, in 1939, and are currently repeating history by failing to act boldly. If NATO doesn’t provide a no-fly zone over Ukraine and our elected officials in the United States continue to publicly declare to Putin what we won’t do — such as the no-fly zone and sanctioning exports of Russian oil and gas — he has no reason to stop.
It’s inconceivable to me, for example, that the U.S. is still buying oil and gas from Russia when we have the capacity in Alaska, through an established pipeline, to supply oil to our country and Europe. I am furious with our government’s weak response to the crisis and lack of creative thinking.
The people of Ukraine shame us all with their courageous and principled defense of their way of life. If Americans and the Europeans don’t take bold action, as allies in a common struggle to protect freedom, then we’re on the brink of a new and very dark age.
Eric Young
Idyllwild
