How can we prevent a world war? 

Everyone who read the New Times article about the Narozhnyi family should have deep sympathy for their plight ("At War from afar," March 10). Vladimir Putin is Hitler with a Russian face, both were and are brutal monsters that spread death and hatred based on their lies and greed for power. Hitler smashed into Poland and France with his blitzkrieg. Putin smashed into Ukraine with his massive war machine. He's cut off all lines of communication so the Russian people won't know the suffering and death he is causing. Any Russian who protests Putin's brutal war is threatened with prison. He's closed off almost all means for Ukranians to receive humanitarian aid or a means to escape. The Western democracies' economic sanctions may financially hurt Putin and his wealthy cronies but won't stop the monster's war. What can the democratic countries of the world do without giving Putin the excuse to start a catastrophic world war? Putin has been engaged in a cyberwar to acrimoniously divide and confuse the United States since at least the 2016 presidential election.

Charles Ewing

Paso Robles