This year’s demonstrations are fueled by a contentious decision made by President Joe Biden. On November 12, 2024, just days after his electoral defeat to President-elect Donald Trump, Biden authorized Ukraine to deploy U.S. and European long-range missiles against Russian targets—a move NATO had previously avoided to prevent direct entanglement in the war. Russia had long warned that such actions crossed a red line, with President Vladimir Putin explicitly linking this escalation to NATO’s tacit involvement in the conflict.

Predictably, Biden’s decision provoked an alarming response. On November 19, 2024, Ukraine launched eight long-range missiles into the Kursk region of Russian, testing the limits of NATO’s strategic involvement. Russia’s retaliation, however, stunned the world. Deploying a cutting-edge Intermediate Medium range Missile-called the Oreshnik-equipped with hypersonic projectiles, Russia struck a critical Ukrainian missile facility, demonstrating an exceptional ability to bypass even the most advanced air defense systems. Take note, the United States was explicitly forewarned by Russia well in advance of the launch—a standard international protocol-to prevent any misinterpretation of the event as a preemptive, nuclear-armed missile attack.

While Russia labeled the weapon “experimental,” its devastating precision sent a clear message: NATO’s involvement, however indirect, would not go unanswered. Moscow further lowered its threshold for nuclear response, warning that existential threats could lead to catastrophic escalation.

This moment recalls President John F. Kennedy’s sober warning after the Cuban Missile Crisis: nuclear-armed nations must never be forced into humiliating retreat. “No nation which has ever harbored nuclear weapons,” JFK declared, “will accept defeat in a conventional war without resorting to its ultimate deterrent.” Sixty-one years later, his prescient words echo as tensions between nuclear superpowers escalate dangerously.

Notwithstanding, Western powers, including the United States and the United Kingdom, are reportedly bracing for the possibility of a “limited nuclear exchange.” While strategists debate the feasibility of such a scenario, the consensus is grim: even a “limited” nuclear conflict could unleash catastrophic destruction, with estimates of over 100 million American lives lost within 72 hours.

Amid this perilous backdrop, thousands of Americans are preparing to voice their discontent. On December 7, 2024, a mass march on the White House and Congress will call for immediate de-escalation and demand action from President-elect Donald Trump. Trump has vowed to resolve the conflict through diplomacy, promising a negotiated settlement within days of assuming office.

Critics, however, accuse the Biden-Harris administration and UK Labour leader Keir Starmer of pursuing an unrealistic goal: defeating Russia, a nuclear superpower, with conventional weapons. This ambition seriously contradicts Kennedy’s wisdom and raises the specter of global catastrophe.

As the world looks on, December 7 stands as both a solemn reminder of a past war and a warning against igniting a conflict that could be even deadlier and impossible to survive.The stakes have never been higher, and the path forward demands courage, prudence, and the recognition that nuclear brinkmanship benefits no one.

The great or greatest scientist ever, Albert Einstein, a passionate advocate for peace and global harmony, once sounded a chilling warning that continues to resonate through history—a reminder of the existential threat posed by nuclear warfare. In the aftermath of World War II and the dawn of the atomic age, he voiced his fervent concern about humanity’s precarious relationship with its own creations.

Einstein’s now-iconic words encapsulate his fear: “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” This special prophecy paints a grim picture of a future where the cataclysmic power of nuclear weapons could obliterate civilization, leaving any survivors to scrape together existence with the most primitive tools in a desolate, post-apocalyptic world.

His words serve not just as a reflection of his unease but as a rallying cry for humanity to master its technologies with wisdom and restraint, lest it becomes the architect of its own doom. Einstein’s warning remains a powerful call to prioritize peace over destruction and cooperation over conflict.