Like the writer of the Jan. 2 opinion column “Negotiate Ukraine peace now, not risk nuclear war with Russia,” and the two letter writers on Jan. 7, I too am alarmed at the growing possibility that we could get into a war with Russia if the U.S. and NATO decide to send in troops to bail out Ukraine’s exhausted and manpower-short army which keeps losing more and more territory; and if we keep letting Ukraine fire our long-range missiles into Russia, which is crossing a big red line for them. Such a “conventional” war could easily turn into full-scale nuclear war.

Whether or not we oppose Russian foreign policies and think Vladimir Putin is a dictator, it’s not worth risking nuclear war over. What’s so bad about agreeing to have Ukraine stay a neutral country instead of joining NATO? Austria and Finland were neutral countries all during the Cold War, and they didn’t get invaded even though they’re near Russia.

After nearly three years, the Ukrainians have suffered huge losses of soldiers, territory, environmental damage, and energy infrastructure. I think we should help them stop the hemorrhaging of their society and future by negotiating an end to this war before they face possible total collapse and we face possible nuclear war. As a start, please contact President Joe Biden and our senators and representative in Congress and urge them to stop allowing Ukraine to use our missiles to attack deep inside Russia.

Johanna Halbeisen

Northampton