In this Feb. 7, 2022, file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to French President Emmanuel Macron during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. Credit: Sputnik / Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to letters@bangordailynews.com.

The wife of one of my cousins is of Ukrainian heritage, in fact one of her aunts lives in Ukraine. At least I hope she is still alive in Ukraine. I am grateful that President Joe Biden has managed in such a short time to help  mobilize NATO and other countries to unite against Vladimir Putin’s war and take steps to hold Putin, his oligarchs and his economy accountable. Sadly, horribly, the bombing and devastation continues. What else can we do?

Putin seems willing to level the cities of Ukraine rather than admit that he has made a mistake. I think his ethics when it comes to freedom, democracy and the lives of everyday people are like those of Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin. To his surprise, he has managed to unite most of the world against him, and he has made our democracy, as dysfunctional as it is, look good.

Speaking of dysfunctional, I continue to be amazed by how badly some of our fellow Republicans are behaving, during the State of the Union address, regarding Putin and his war against democratic Ukraine ( Donald Trump and  Tucker Carlson), regarding voting suppression, hostility toward voters of color ( Texas, Georgia, etc.) and regarding precedent in the Supreme Court. I am hard pressed to think of a government institution, including the Senate and Supreme Court, that hasn’t had its reputation sullied by Republican obstruction and misbehavior.

Jim Owen

Belfast