The West must robustly reverse its complicity in Putin’s lawless and murderous behaviour
sir – The world, especially the West, stood by while Vladimir Putin rigged elections, imprisoned political opponents, authorised killings on foreign soil and supported international law-breaking by Belarus. So it is little wonder that he feels he can do as he wishes.
Russia should be completely isolated, politically, financially and physically, even at the expense, for example, of supplies of gas to Europe. Only when such robust action causes considerable daily hurt to those in his country will he be toppled by them. Richard Tinn
Malvern, Worcestershire
SIR – Sherelle Jacobs (Comment, February 22) is spot on: “The Ukraine situation is so dangerous because it is about more than the fate of one country. The West’s enemies are watching: indeed, this could be a dry run for an even greater confrontation with China over Taiwan.”
Britain has been tougher than most, but publicly ruling out the deployment of troops was a huge mistake, serving only to embolden Mr Putin. Forget sanctions and “diplomacy”; he only respects power .
If he is able, for a third time, to act with impunity, he will not stop at Donetsk and Luhansk. Nato and the free world must draw a line by immediately deploying troops to Ukraine to deter any further advance in pursuit of Mr Putin’s declared mission to reintegrate Ukraine with mother Russia.
In doing so, we would call his bluff in support of the commitment that Britain, America and indeed Russia gave in 1994 to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty. That would send a clear message that the Baltic States and other former Soviet satellite states will be defended, and send a warning shot across the Chinese bows, just as Margaret Thatcher’s resolve to recover the Falkland Islands from foreign aggression 40 years ago made the world a safer place.
Sir Gerald Howarth
Chelsworth, Suffolk sir – Although the Corbynites like to express their support for Vladimir Putin, it is the gullible greens and frightened anti-frackers who have handed him the power to control energy requirements throughout Western Europe. He can sit alone at his end of a long table, playing Russian roulette with the EU, Nato and Western Europe’s gas.
Brian Christley
Abergele, Conwy
SIR – Further to Sherelle Jacobs’s article on “shifting tectonic plates”, I suspect that there will only be one real winner from events now playing out on Nato’s eastern flank – China.
In the grand strategic context, it would be helpful if this could be the wake-up call for the West to cast off its increasingly dull propensity towards self-doubt. While very rightly reasserting the strength of its liberal democratic values and political and military solidarity, the West might now be wise to accept the realpolitik and achieve a more complementary relationship with a resource-rich – albeit economically weak – and militarily powerful Russia.
This would allow for Russia’s long-held security and self-esteem sensitivities, in order to ensure that we are best positioned for the more challenging, truly global contest in the Far East. That is the long view. Colonel Rob Davie (retd)
Salisbury, Wiltshire
SIR – For the last few weeks, the British International School in Kyiv, Ukraine, has been advertising on a teachers’ jobs website for a head of school.
This week, however, a notice was posted alongside the advertisement which read: “Appointment temporarily postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.”
Bearing in mind the “unforeseen circumstances” have included 130,000 Russian troops plus heavy artillery and tanks, this is a pretty impressive example of understatement.
David S Ainsworth Manchester