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I think they understand perfectly. The article doesn't claim that the war is a World War in the sense of WW1 or WW2 but rather that it is a conflict with global implications and one that has seen influence etc on a global (or world wide if you prefer) scale. That is certainly the case with global coalitions to support either party, albeit more on the Ukrainian side (though Russia does have the likes of Iran, Nth Korea and China amongst others supporting it).I don't think these Op-Ed contributors understand what an actual World War is...
I've been using the term "dumbf**ks", but that works, too.I've thought of a new term to describe Putin supporters in Europe: "Putinesca(s)"