I mean arguably WWII started in 1937 with the Second Sino-Japanese War (or even 1935 with the Italian invasion of Ethiopia) and took a few years to spin up into

I mean arguably WWII started in 1937 with the Second Sino-Japanese War (or even 1935 with the Italian invasion of Ethiopia) and took a few years to spin up into a global inferno. Alternatively you could possibly compare the current Russian invasion to the Winter War prior to Operation Barbarossa and the Continuation war. All of that's to say this could very well could very well be the prelude to wider hostilities, even if things simmer down in Ukraine in the short to medium term. I hope this isn't the case but we'd be fools to not consider the contingencies.