The irony of Putin’s war

The generosity of the British public has once again been highlighted in the incredible amount of humanitarian aid that has been collected in this country in the weeks since Putin's Russian troops invaded Ukraine and waged war on that sovereign country.

And as well as this display of human kindness, has come a wave of anger and condemnation at the way in which civilians, just like themselves have been caught up and killed in the conflict.

As in any war, it is the ordinary man, woman and child that is unwittingly caught up in the hostilities; paying the price for a dictator's ambitions involving the future of a neighbouring country.

Those ambitions have been clear for all to see for a good many years now (Putin wants to reassert Russian authority in the world) yet the West, and many NATO countries in particular, chose to bury their heads in the sand and hope he didn't really mean to take back some of the lost Soviet territories - oh how wrong they were!

Putin has built his career and reputation on being the "hard man" and he will not back down without somehow saving face.

The irony of his decision to invade Ukraine (and the subsequent loss of life) is that those very same dithering NATO allies seem so much more united now than they were before the war.

Going forward, they must continue to support the Ukrainians in every way they can, and learn a valuable lesson which seems to have been lost over the years - you can't appease a dictator; only steely resistance will serve that purpose.

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