Eyeless in Gaza, once again

Each new morn New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows Strike heaven on the face...." Shakespeare's lines, which once described Scotland's sorrows under his tragic hero Macbeth, resonate widely in our unfortunate world today.

- NAVTEJ SARNA

The Russia-Ukraine war, as seemingly endless as the flat landscape in which it is being waged, has claimed a million dead and wounded in its 30 months. There are several pathways to its escalation but not even one faintly credible way to peace. An expanded NATO is trying to face down the Russian bear, bleeding under sanctions but dangerously aggressive.

Drone strikes into Russia, including on Moscow, and the invasion of Kursk have upped the ante; direct attack on Russian territory by NATO-supplied long-distance missiles is only a hair trigger away. Russian reaction is unpredictable, but its ferocity can be guaranteed. History that easily forgotten lessonshows that adversity only makes the Russians fight harder, and feel prouder. Enough hints have been dropped about Russia's nuclear option. The wise would heed such hints; only the foolish laugh them away.