Patriots are fighting and dying in Ukraine. Women and children are being bombed by Russian planes. Yesterday, 13 of that nation’s warriors stared down a Russian warship and said, “Go eff yourself!” before being summarily shelled to death.

But John Kerry? Our nation’s former secretary of state and Joe Biden’s current special envoy and climate czar is worried that trivialities such as mass bloodshed on the European continent may distract Vladimir Putin from the real issue … which is climate change. Seriously.

In fairness, Kerry’s comments came earlier this week, before the full-scale Russian invasion. But still. In an age of unfettered vanity and unremitting idiocy, John Kerry stands supreme. He towers like a colossus, staring down at all the demi-dolts with all the haughty, French-looking self-assuredness of a man who by the way served in Vietnam. Indeed, the thoughts and words of the only North Vietnamese collaborator ever to seek the American presidency still have the power to shock, to stupefy, to slacken our jaws.

“I’m concerned about Ukraine,” said Kerry during a recent interview with BBC Arabic, “because of the people of Ukraine and because of the principles that are at risk … and I hope diplomacy will win. But [there will be] massive emissions consequences to the war. But equally importantly, you’re going to lose people’s focus. You’re going to lose certainly big-country attention, because they will be diverted. And I think it could have a damaging impact. … And so I hope President Putin will help us to stay on track with respect to what we need to do for the climate.”

We needn’t unduly concern ourselves with that little kerfuffle in Ukraine because, Kerry told GZERO Media, “One way or the other, we’re going to resolve it ultimately over X number of years. But [the] climate crisis remains existential. … So it could be very tough for the climate agenda. There’s no question about it.”

He’s right. It could be a tough stretch for “the climate agenda.” That’s because serious things like hot wars with earth-shaking geopolitical implications tend to distract us from the unserious things. (Fun fact: Kerry was Barack Obama’s secretary of state in 2014 — the same year that Russia’s Vladimir Putin invaded and conquered Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. On second thought, no wonder he’d rather talk about the seriousness of climate change than the provocative weakness of Democrat presidential administrations in which he’s served.)

“Who the hell does John Kerry think he is?” asked Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse. “And, more importantly, is he unaware that widespread war is now possible in Europe for the first time in 77 years? This man is not the Secretary of Defense; he’s not the Secretary of State. John Kerry has a made-up position as International Climate Scold. Now’s not a great time, John.”

Indeed, now’s not the time. Oil is selling for $100 a barrel, Joe Biden’s ruinous energy policies have robbed our nation of its energy independence just when we need it most, and John Kerry is fretting about a little Siberian thaw.

Someone should tell this guy that global warming is good for us.

UPDATE: The New York Post reports that the defiant Ukrainian defenders of the island mentioned above may still be alive.