Point is, Japan had no response, so there is no comparison and your argument is irrelevant.
As for the present, I do not believe Russia is insane. You seem to think otherwise. Fair enough.
First point was Russia does have a response.
Second point was Russia is more likely to first use nukes than us. From their standpoint, it may make sense to do so. You can call whoever uses nuclear arms first insane if that makes you feel better.
Third point, why do we keep escalating our support of a war against a country with more nuclear arms than us in an area thousands of miles from our border. It is not a vital interest of ours. We cannot win. We are guessing they won’t use nukes for a vital interest of theirs. Now that does seem insane to me.