TMI?

Ever since February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded the sovereign smaller (both in terms of size and population) country of Ukraine, most of the world has been perplexed.

How to deal with this outrage?

It was unlike 1990, when the U. N. roundly denounced the invasion of oil-rich Kuwait by Iraq and then put teeth into their denunciation of Saddam Hussein’s nefarious act by forming a coalition called ‘Desert Storm’ which subsequently soundly defeated the occupying forces of Iraq, expelling them from Kuwait.

For Russia is a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council, and would not denounce itself.

There is only so much the U. N. can do.

NATO (including their largest member, the USA), which, perhaps not coincidentally, is comprised of a similar number of countries as those which comprised the coalition in 1990, put their heads together and decided the outrage should not go unchallenged.

One key difference between Iraq and Russia is the former does not have nuclear weaponry, and the fact the latter does has loomed large in decisions made as to how to deal with the invader.

Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, asked for a no-fly zone in the skies above his country. More than once.

Such has been rejected for fear NATO shooting down Russian pilots and Russians shooting down NATO pilots might lead to WWIII.

A Polish offer to provide MiG aircraft to Ukraine was rejected by the USA for similar reasons.