Warofattrition

“Years and years”: that’s how long the Ukraine war will last accordingtoangusroxburgh, the BBC’S former Moscow correspondent and ex-pr advisor to the Kremlin. In his book on Putin titled The Strongman, Roxburgh describes the dictator as pursuing policies akin to the old Soviet Union, and recently suggested comments by him were “Stalinesque”.

Like Stalin, Putin has little intention of negotiating except from a position of strength, firstly securing the objectives of the Donbas region and the Ukrainian Black Sea coast including the strategic port of Odessa. Beyond that Moldova would hand him a de facto border with Romania and crystallise his sphere of influence towards the Mediterranean.

While the West treads a fine line between providing sufficient heavy military aid to help deflect Russian advances and riling Putin to the point where he starts using chemical or tactical nuclear weapons, its objective is to grind down Putin’s military and economic resources. A long conflict would see Russia severely weakened and provide time to strengthen Nato both militarily and diplomatically, extending its membership to Sweden and Finland.

Once again, however, Putin showed his volatile side, after a visit by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, by delivering a missile strike on Kyiv while Guterres was in the city. It must be tempting for the UN to bar Russia from being a permanent member of the Security Council so that it can’t veto resolutions. This, however, would mean China exercising a greater influence to counterbalance the West.

Following years of appeasement a policy of attrition is now being followed to weaken Putin. It’s not clear, however, how long he will tolerate the West’s continued intervention, and moreover what further hardships the Ukrainian people will be forced to endure.

NEIL ANDERSON

Edinburgh

Christianity. It is deplorable that the Church of Scotland has gone away from the clear teaching of the Bible about marriage. That is their affair.

However, it is not for the State and its laws to override freedom of conscience as to whom ministers or priests may or may not marry. COLIN MCALLISTER

St Andrews, Fife