First, I must applaud a Durango letter writer for her well-written contribution, suggesting $60 billion in Department of Defense funding go toward aid for Ukraine.

It is irrefutable, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be satisfied taking over Ukraine. In fact, this war is a beta test to see if he can get away with more invasions of countries on Russia’s western border that were once part of its empire, including the “Iron Curtain” nations ceded to Joseph Stalin in a post-war “agreement” with the allies in Adolf Hitler’s defeat.

While not much is written about those countries, most of them have Russian/Soviet expats living in those border areas. And because of that temptation to “rescue” those expats – as in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the U.S. and our E.U. allies have been shoring up military defenses for those endangered countries.

In particular, the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia are especially vulnerable. And Finland has the longest shared border with Russia and is feeling the growing threat.

Which is to say, the U.S. and our E.U./NATO allies must assume Putin is establishing a legacy for himself by rebuilding the Russian Empire before his demise.

Sixty billion will look like chump change when Putin launches his war on the West, and America will have to respond with a lot more money – maybe even our soldiers. Stop Putin now. Or, else.

David Ohman

Durango