THE US and Russia face off in the Ukraine in a crisis that may start a great war. It will be the first one in decades that is directly between the superpowers although the Ukrainian pawn will suffer the greatest loss of life should it push through. Small countries like the Philippines would do well to review lessons from yesteryears and the circumstances today.

The mask maintained by the US has come off. Pretending it was Ukraine or NATO that was confronting Russia was no longer credible as the US, through State Secretary Antony Blinken and President Joe Biden, talked directly with Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, and President Vladimir Putin while the Ukraine, the theater of conflict, was NOT EVEN INVITED to the discussion.