At a time when Russia's own people are doing everything they can to escape their country and Vladimir Putin, the deranged dictator would have the world believe that Ukrainians are so in love with him that they are clamoring to break away from their own country to become Russian citizens. The results of elections Putin ordered last weekend in four eastern regions of Ukraine now under Russian military occupation are serving as his justification for the likely annexation of those territories as early as Friday, similar to his invasion of Crimea in 2014 and annexation after a sham election.

These elections are, of course, bogus. There is widespread evidence that armed Russian soldiers went door-to-door and forced Ukrainians to vote. Why Putin went through this charade isn't clear, since the outcome was predetermined. Ukrainians at gunpoint and under military occupation voted between 87% in the Kherson region and 99% in Donetsk in favor of annexation. Only 87% in Kherson? Sounds like some soon-to-be Russians need to be conscripted immediately and sent to the front lines for an attitude adjustment.

Meanwhile, border crossings around Russia are being flooded with vehicles as an estimated 10,000 men per day scramble to flee forced conscription so Putin can continue to fight an unprovoked war in Ukraine that his own people never asked for and clearly do not support.

He might try to argue that Russia is only following the U.S. example in Iraq and Afghanistan, where elections were held repeatedly under military occupation. But the ballot questions there were about whom to elect as their leaders, not about ceding parts of their countries to their neighbors. No one was forced at gunpoint to vote. International observers were allowed to monitor.

The Ukraine-Russia war has always served as a potential flashpoint for a much wider and more dangerous confrontation with NATO. President Joe Biden's deft handling of military aid, training and technical support has ensured Ukrainian forces got everything they needed not just to defend their territory but to push Russian forces into a humiliating retreat. That's why Putin rushed this annexation vote while declaring that any attack on Russian territory, including annexed land, could justify a Russian nuclear response. He assured the world he is "not bluffing."

In an ideal world, saner heads would prevail among Russia's military leaders, and they would forcibly remove a madman from power before he ever had a chance to provoke World War III. Biden's public response to Putin has been limited to this: "Don't. Don't. Don't."

This is a red-line moment. Catastrophic dangers loom for the world. Putin must be made to understand that another Crimea-style land grab is not an option and, more importantly, a nuclear escalation would only yield a swift and definitive end to his despotic rule — one way or another.

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