Germany’s priorities

sir – As long as the EU draws oil and gas from Russia, the defeat of Ukraine will remain a possibility.

The German economy is not sacrosanct above all other concerns (“VW chief ’s call for Putin deal shames all Germany”, Business, May 11). A German recession cannot be compared to the daily suffering of Ukrainians and the consequences of Russia prevailing.

Every day, civilians, including children, are dying, and hospitals are being bombed. Military equipment being sent to Ukraine will eventually be depleted. The sooner Russian forces are beaten and the threat to Europe recedes, the sooner a new order can be established.

Roger Smith Oxford

sir – The pledge by Boris Johnson to send British troops to the Nordic states to ward off a Russian threat is welcome (report, May 12), but this is exactly what Nato should have done in Ukraine before Russia invaded.

Nato failed to provide the necessary trip wire and brinkmanship in Ukraine, which was exploited by Vladimir Putin, who saw this as a potential weakness and evidence of a lack of commitment from the Western alliance. Most countries in Nato are rightly now supporting Ukraine, but the current situation could well have been avoided with greater foresight and resolve.

Lt Col Jeremy Prescott (retd) Southsea, Hampshire