“We are getting madder by the minute!!” This phrase does not really work when hundreds, if not, thousands of lives are at risk everyday. It is time to act. The Russian invasion into Ukraine is bogged down and the Russian military is now targeting civilian population centers trying to intimidate the Ukrainian people into submission as their defending army is holding off the Russian military advance. As we have all seen on the news every night, the city of Mariupol has taken the brunt of the Russian bombing, and a once beautiful port city has been reduced to a massive rubble. Hundreds of thousands of people are trapped in bomb shelters with provisions rapidly depleting, unable to escape as Russians artillery fires on them as they try to find a safe way out of the city.
The world no longer wants to hear that “NATO is strong and standing together,” something akin to “you are in our thoughts and prayers.” Ukraine borders directly with four NATO countries. It is a country that has asked to join the Alliance several times, most recently, just last summer. The Alliance delayed Ukraine’s admission into NATO for several political reasons, but we still have to ask ourselves, “Are Ukrainian lives less important that lives in NATO nations?” It is time for NATO to act.
The leaders of the NATO Alliance are meeting in Brussels this week. NATO should announce that they will immediately be conducting a humanitarian evacuation of the innocent civilians trapped in the city of Mariupol. NATO will send a fleet of Navy boats to the port of Mariupol. This evacuation will incur as soon as the flotilla can arrive at the port. An immediate ceasefire should be announced throughout the city. Russia must honor the ceasefire. Any violation of the ceasefire by Russia will be deemed a direct attack on NATO and will bring about an appropriate military response by the Alliance. The ceasefire shall be in place as long as the evacuation continues. This declaration by NATO will give a pause to the constant air strikes on Mariupol and allow innocent civilians the chance to escape onto the waiting ships of the NATO Navy.
This declaration by NATO is essential this week so that we can begin to bring relief to the several hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in Mariupol. We have let Putin dictate to the world the terms of this invasion. We cannot let Putin intimidate us into a passive responses when so many lives are at risk. We can then use these ceasefire talks as a starting point for a broader and more lasting ceasefire in the region.
H O W A R D S B E N D 
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