When Russian President Vladimir Putin recently warned the West that planet Earth is one step away from World War III if there is a direct conflict between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato), all countries around the world must wake up.
This is no idle threat. The war in Ukraine is not going in the direction Russia wants and that is fuelling Putin's anger. He blames the West for propping up Ukraine with arms and funds and thus, hampering his march to Kyiv.
For the most part, the Ukraine conflict is treated as something of a domestic affair given that Ukraine was once part of the now-defunct Soviet Union.
However, this is a conflict that can impact the course of human life worldwide as it has the potential to turn into a broader clash of arms across international borders.
Ukraine has now become an important battleground for not only Europe but also for the world at large. If Russia resorts to using nuclear weapons, the situation will spiral out of control with horrific global consequences.
Russia is a superpower that loves to brandish its nuclear weapons whenever it feels threatened by the West, especially its arch-nemesis, the US.
Can the world remain a mute bystander while the flames of war threaten to engulf more countries? No. There must be a decisive and powerful enough response from the international community to deal with this looming threat.
The fact that Putin expressly warned of a third world war clearly indicates that the Ukraine conflict is no longer a localised or domestic matter but one that would eventually involve the whole world.
Unity and awareness
How then can the global community respond? Obviously, it cannot intervene militarily because it does not have the military muscle to take on a superpower armed to the teeth with horrendous weapons of mass destruction.
What nations around the globe, especially those in the non-nuclear club, could and should do is band together and keep hammering home the message that unleashing nuclear weapons will probably spell the extinction of the human race and end all forms of biological life on Earth.
On the political front, leaders all over the world must embark on relentless global campaigns by using every possible means to stop the approaching Armageddon.
They must conduct regular summits to publicise their concerns and reach a consensus on the form of action they can take to cool down the tempers of the warriors in Moscow.
The United Nations should be called into regular emergency sessions to highlight the consequences of a third world war on all nations, and more importantly, on the fragile planetary environment.
Invite scientists and experts to the UN to enlighten the world on the awesome power of today's nuclear bombs accompanied by slides on giant screens replaying the grisly scenes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as they lay devastated from the atomic bomb attacks in the closing stages of World War II.
Television stations all over the world should also beam such images daily into every home to educate the people on the dangers of nuclear warfare and the unimaginable destruction it could wreak on the only habitable planet in the vast cosmic universe.
Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki can also take to the UN podium to recall the events of that terrible time when the firestorm of death hit Japan.
Newspapers, printed and online, can pitch in with special reports and features on the fate of our planet under the shadow of a mushroom cloud.
To strengthen the case for terrestrial protection, a clarion call should go out to all citizens of the world to stand together and encircle the globe in a motherly display of love and care for our vulnerable "common home".
Using the power of social media, send out messages to all four corners of the world to get millions and millions of ordinary people to gather on that one special "Save Earth Day" to link shoulders, with each participant holding a small globe in the palms of their hands.
When images of humanity encircling the globe make headlines around the world, it conveys a powerful statement that the fate of man and Earth is inextricably linked.
Never forget Hiroshima, Nagasaki
For the record, the atomic bombs dropped on the two Japanese cities killed between 90,000 and 166,000 in Hiroshima; and between 39,000 and 80,000 in Nagasaki.
According to one account, "tens of thousands of people (in Hiroshima) within a two-km radius were burned, decapitated, disembowelled, crushed and irradiated".
Today, if Russia were to drop a nuclear bomb, which is 100 times more powerful than an atomic bomb, on a city in a Nato country, or if there is an all-out nuclear war between the US and Russia, it is estimated that more than 300 million people will be killed, in addition to the billions more who will die in slow agony.
Mother Earth itself will suffer irreparable damage from the nuclear fallout. In fact, there is a high risk that the planet will all be "fried up" and turn barren - just like a Martian landscape.
Time is of the essence. A small war can erupt into a larger conflagration, a single shot can lead to a world war, and a nuclear bomb dropped on a country can trigger an all-out nuclear war that can mean the end of humans and Earth - and history.
All national leaders must clear their desks of all domestic matters in the face of an approaching doomsday.
Forget about five-year plans, forget about attracting foreign investments, forget about general elections, forget about political ambitions, forget about government slogans - this is no time to think of national interests.
The single most important issue is not fighting for the sovereignty and integrity of a nation but for the defence of the terrestrial sovereignty of Earth. All must jointly fight to save Mother Earth from the horrors of nuclear war.
It is an international duty to ensure our common home - a beautiful creation - will not vanish just because of a conflict burning in a small space on Earth called Ukraine. - Mkini
PHLIP RODRIGUES is a retired journalist.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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