“If there is going to be a fight, be the one to throw the first punch”...

— Vladimir Putin

“Never contend with someone who has nothing to lose”....

— Sicilian proverb

At the crack of dawn on 24 February 2022, a beleaguered nation woke up to the searing sounds of air raid sirens and deafening explosions. Through their shattered window panels, terrified Ukrainians beheld fireballs and black smoke bellowing through the skyline of their beautiful cities. Putin had struck again. He had annexed Crimea by brute military force in 2014. Now it was time to reabsorb mainland Ukraine into the “Russian Empire”.

A few hours earlier, life in Ukraine was normal. Children were at school. Adults were in work places. Senior citizens were either in hospices or nursing homes. Foreign students were engaged in the nation’s serene institutions. Today, most of the cities are scorched and desolate. Death and destruction dot the entire landscape.

Inhabitants are fleeing to neighbouring countries to seek refuge. These ordinary citizens have become victims in a conflict they know nothing about. The leaders of NATO and Russia whose ideological and territorial rivalry resulted in this crisis, are effectively shielded from the bullets and missiles. Just like Hitler, Putin and Zelensky are protected in executive bunkers with all the peacetime articles of comfort. The vulnerable civilians are the ones taking the bullets, artillery fire, rockets and missiles. What an unfair world!

This is a familiar spectacle. When Hitler invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, the world was too petrified to react promptly and coherently. As the nations of Europe demurred, the aggressor became emboldened to attack other countries. And he did. Things quickly spiraled out of control and the rest is history. As World War 2 drew to an inglorious end in late April, 1945, Hitler and his enablers had lost everything, including the ‘Third Reich’. His propaganda minister, Josef Goebbels had his six children poisoned before committing suicide with his wife. Tragically, Hitler and his mistress ended the same way.

If the Fuhrer had weapons of mass destruction in 1945, he would have taken the Samson's option – kill everybody in Europe before taking his own life.

This is the mindset of people who have nothing more to lose, but their pathetic lives.

At the end of World War 1, Germany was heavily sanctioned with reparations for their atrocious role. The resulting depression offered Hitler a window to snatch power in March 1933, citing sanctions as a declaration of war on Germany. Putin has recently stated that economic sanctions by the West were ‘An Act of War’.

I can see a vague pattern.

Putin lied to the global audience, that it was a special military operation to protect Russians mistreated in Ukraine.

Hitler also lied to the world that his mission was to protect humanity from the ‘Jewish Curse’.

I can see a clear pattern

Hitler held a rally after invading Poland and seduced his audience with powerful oratory. Few days ago, Putin spoke to large rally in Moscow, justifying his invasion of Ukraine to a cheering audience.

I can see an unsettling pattern.

Aggressors always latch on to some weird and elusive ideology to mask their evil intentions. For Hitler it was the brazen advancement of the ‘superiority’ of the Aryan race. For Putin it is a silent nostalgia for the might and power of the defunct USSR.

I can see a terrifying pattern.

In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the West promptly responded by slamming increasing levels of economic sanctions, in quick succession. It would be naive to assume that Putin had not made provisions for the possible effects of those sanctions. He sustained his invasion, despite financial strangulation. Indeed, from history, sanctions have never really deterred aggressors. Only military force and counter aggression do. Disturbingly, the aggressor this time is a nuclear power and military option appears to be last on NATO’s agenda. So what next?

As the war in Ukraine rages, the fate of Europe and indeed humanity hangs precariously on a delicate balance. Once again, mankind vicariously tethers on the edge of extinction.

Today, Russia has been financially shut down by the West. Major western businesses have pulled out or closed shops to create unemployment. Russian Central Bank as well the Stock Exchange are closed. Tech companies like SWIFT, Visa, Mastercard, Apple, Google, etc, have left Russia. Bank accounts belonging to the Russian state as well as the enabling Oligarchs, have all been frozen. Clearly, Putin might have overreached himself when he decided to invade Ukraine.

Now, he has been stripped of all economic capabilities. I am disturbed that sanctions might have placed a dangerous man, in a position where he has nothing more to lose. And he has promised, by implication, to throw the first punch if there is going to be a 'nuclear' war.

You may recall that in the first few days of this invasion, he placed on high alert, Russia's nuclear forces following a mere rhetoric from NATO. The dreaded Red Button is still within his reach.

With a stockpile of 6,300 warheads, Russia has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world. One warhead has about 53 times the power of the bomb that wiped out Hiroshima.

Once again, nuclear holocaust looms on the horizon.

This time all continents will be affected. No flora or fauna will survive. In nuclear wars there are no winners or losers. Planet Earth will assume the barren and lifeless nature of Mars.

NATO has only two options if world peace must be preserved. Assassinate Putin and infiltrate the Kremlin. Or sacrifice Ukraine to save humanity. The former is a tall order, but the latter is feasible as a short term solution. Ultimately, Putin’s Kremlin must be dismantled for peace to return to the world.

There are about 7.44 billion people on the planet. The possible outcome of a nuclear holocaust will be too high a price to pay, for the ego and comfort of only 44m people that inhabit Ukraine. Presently, it may be too late to rescue the country from the mouth of the ‘Russian bear’.

Perhaps NATO should deploy more resources to countries who are accepting Ukrainian refugees. It should also deploy military hardware towards fortifying their frontiers, to check further aggression from Russia. Few days ago, some errant drones were spotted over a military base in Poland. This was an ominous signal.

NATO made a fundamental blunder when it acquiesced to Ukraine joining the alliance. They had all the intelligence to predict this response from Putin, but failed to act in a timely manner. Annexation of Crimea was a clear warning from Russia. Now, the train has left the station without brakes. It is easier to disable a stationary train than to stop a moving one. Putin will never back down. Now that logistics seem to have stalled Russia's advances towards Kyiv, Putin may become desperate. There is strong suspicion that he may resort to unconventional weapons. Afterall, he used chemical weapons in Syria.

Tragically, Ukraine will end up being destroyed, occupied and possibly annexed. Its citizens will be refugees for a long time in the future, if not indefinitely.

My heart goes out to countless families, especially the most vulnerable, who have to endure this sudden tragedy at the peak of Winter. Death or displacement would be their lot in this war of attrition. And their country will be the sacrificial lamb, on the altar of temporary peace.

Today, Vladimir Putin represents a clear and present danger to the world. The countdown has begun.......

Thankfully, NATO has made a tactical withdrawal, hiding behind sanctions and refusing direct military confrontation with Putin. Clearly, the West does not want to risk a nuclear conflict with Russia. They are happy with their democracy, freedom, safety and prosperity.

Faced with hard choices, Ukraine must be sacrificed to save humanity from the specter of a nuclear apocalypse.

•Victor Amadi, a medical doctor, practices in Onitsha, Anambra State.