Guest columnist John Berkowitz states he is convinced that the war in Ukraine is a "civil war." [“Past time to end wars in Ukraine, Palestine,” Aug. 9]. The writer is under the illusion that the Ukrainians and the Russians are the same people. That they have the same history, the same language, same culture. They do not. They are not the same people. This is not a civil war. Putin invaded an independent nation. History shows us what Stalin did to Ukraine with the Holodomor: the forced starvation of the Ukrainian people that killed millions. Russia has attacked maternity hospitals, children's cancer hospitals, theaters, apartment houses and churches. In Bucha, they have tortured and murdered. They leveled Mariupol. They kidnapped thousands of Ukrainian children to "reeducate" them. I applaud President Biden for his support of Ukraine. A President Harris will also support Ukrainian freedom and democracy. We do worry about the future of American children. But if Russia takes Ukraine, will they go after the Baltic countries or Poland? If that happens, NATO's Article Five would be enacted and American troops would be on the ground in a wider war. Those troops would be American men and women. We are all for negotiations. America should continue to support the brave people of Ukraine and their desire for freedom and independence.

Robert Freedman

Florence