Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. On October 16, 1939, a weary and war-tested group of international physicians finally reached their destination, the headquarters of the Chinese Red Cross Medical Relief Corps in Guiyang, Guizhou province. Their new medical colleagues wondered how in the world they ended up in China. After all, it was more than 6,000 kilometres from Ukraine, their place of birth. The explanations from Drs Frantisek Kriegel and Wolf Jungermann were straightforward. In broken Chinese, they would utter: “Until all of us are free, none of us are free.” They were what journalists would later refer to as “premature anti-fascists”. These Jewish doctors had witnessed early on the evil of the rise of National Socialism in Europe. They had joined the Spanish Republicans in their fight against Francisco Franco, Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini. When they were incarcerated, NGOs in England and Norway rose to their plea for help while nation-states fell silently to their self-interests. These doctors did not plead for a ride away from the battle against German fascism and Japanese imperialism but for a ride towards it. The ammunition and medicine would follow. It is, as Russia is learning, a Ukrainian thing. Drs Kriegel and Jungermann witnessed first-hand the exodus of millions of Chinese refugees to the West. They saw the horrible medical consequences of the indiscriminate bombing of helpless civilians in urban settings. They hoped for a future where all our children and grandchildren would never again suffer from these atrocities. Sadly, that future has not arrived. I have often been told that China does not forget its friends. China’s decision to send emergency aid to Ukraine through the Red Cross Society of China is further evidence of this. It is my hope that the peace-loving people of China will remember their Ukrainian friends at their moment of greatest need. Robert Mamlok, MD, author of “The International Medical Relief Corps in Wartime China, 1937-1945” Europe can be mediator in today’s world Nato has a tribal matrix, inspired by the Pentateuch model of social organisation, which can be efficient to organise tribes but is harmful for those who are the object of exploitation by these organised tribes. The result will always be war or terrorism. Europe could be a great mediator, seeking diplomacy and strengthening the ideal of the UN Charter. In today’s world, there should be no room for tribes that claim to be superior. The old world needs to be replaced. Reginaldo Minaré, Brasilia, Brazil Putin, not the West, is Russian people’s enemy It is not Nato, the United States, European countries or the European Union that is the enemy of the Russian people. It is Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Adolf Hitler was to the Germans. Nato is a defensive organisation. No democratic state – which is one of the criteria for membership of Nato – would wage an offensive war against any state, but especially not in the name of Nato. Staying true to its defensive role, Nato will not take an active role against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine . It seems the cure must come from within Russia. The malignant tumour is Putin, and it is the Russian people who must perform the appropriate surgery. Putin believes he can take by force and control by fear. This is unacceptable to most people in Europe and everywhere else in the world, including, I believe, the Russian Federation. Because of his arrogance and contempt for others, including his own population, ordinary people in Russia now face uncertainty and difficulties for the foreseeable future. This barbaric act of terrorism against humanity cannot and must not be forgiven. Dr Jonathan Fearon-Jones, Cambridge, UK