PETERS: It’s time for Vladimir Putin to be stopped

Thursday, Unicef reported almost 100 children were killed during the month of April alone, a statistic that should shock and anger the entire world.

The United Nations has called for an end to bombing of Ukrainian schools — something that shouldn’t need to be done if the invading force had any moral high ground at all.

But Vladimir Putin has no underpinning to his actions, be it moral or strategic. He is driven only by his own ego and lust for power.

Six million people have been forced to flee Ukraine and another 8 million are internally displaced with Ukraine’s borders. In total, that’s about one-third of the country’s population.

So what is being done to help these people under siege?

The West has supplied Ukraine with lethal weaponry and hundreds of millions of dollars in aid. It hasn’t been enough.

The threat of Russia’s nuclear capabilities is keeping western nations from further intervention. Other nations are worried that any escalation would throw the world into World War III.

That may be understandable.

If there are any reasons to send troops into war, though, what greater reasons do we need than an invading force bombing schools — literally targeting children?

What stops Putin from taking this campaign of terror to other neighbouring nations?

Even as the invasion halfway around the world gets pushed down from the top of the newscast and migrates away from the top of our minds, that doesn’t mean its impact on the Ukrainian people is dulling.

The pain is getting worse.

If Vladimir Putin can’t be reasoned with, he needs to be stopped — and it’s the West who needs to step up.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.

by James Peters

PETERS: It’s time for Vladimir Putin to be stopped

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