Chicken

Humanity could be extinct in a few days. Or maybe not.

- ALEX MAGNO

Russia's nuclear saber rattling has never been louder than it has been. This is in response to the Biden administration lifting its ban on the use of American long-range missiles in attacking Russian territory. Everywhere there are people talking about the onset of World War III.

Faced with the possibility of losing Ukraine after Donald Trump retains power, Joe Biden lifted his ban on the use of donated American weapons against targets within Russian borders. The ban was consistent with the outgoing president's abundance of caution and fear escalation.

Biden justified his lifting of the ban by the entry of North Korean troops in the Russian Kursk region. Months ago, guided by a puzzling strategy, Ukraine sent some of its best brigades in a wild incursion into Russian territory. The adventure proved costly. But Ukrainian units remain in control of some Russian land. Analysts believe the incursion intended grabbing Russian land to trade for occupied Ukrainian land in the event negotiations between the warring nations happen.

The bold incursion definitely failed to force Russia to relocate vital brigades from the eastern Ukrainian front and stall an offensive against exhausted Ukrainian forces. Over the past few weeks, however, Russian forces have been conducting a broad offensive that pushed back Ukraine's defensive lines. A large force of 50,000 troops, including about 10,000 North Korean soldiers, is now massed around the Kursk region to throw the Ukrainians back across the border.