Pick of the week’s correspondence

War: we saw it coming To the Financial Times

The one jarring note [in the exemplary article “The war of Putin’s imagination”) was the unfounded notion that no one expected this aggression from the Kremlin. I served as the UK’s defence attaché in Moscow for five years, 20112016, during which time this long, dark march to war was obvious. We reported the inevitability of conflict in detail, regularly and with the despair of Cassandra.

The evidence of Vladimir Putin’s chosen path was never concealed. His many declarations were meant to be heard and understood: the colossal rearmament programme; the demand for more complex, more lethal weaponry; the militarisation of society; domination of education, the media and the courts to exclude contrasting views and, ultimately, the alienation and destruction of those among the Russian people who understood the folly of his declared ambition.

I despair at the decisions Putin has taken, but even more at the prospect of finding credible leadership at home among those who have compromised with his regime and the wealth it offered.

Carl Scott, Air Commodore (Rtd), Oakham, Rutland

Lessons from Kharkiv To The Times

One of the earliest war-crimes trials of the Second World War took place in the liberated Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in December 1943 (“Troops guilty of crimes, says US”). A Russian military tribunal considered German atrocities, including the starvation and shooting of civilians, bombing hospitals and “burning down and destroying entire towns”. The Russian prosecutor concluded that “the soldiers cannot but know that such actions constitute a travesty of international law and the laws of all civilised countries”. The defence of “obeying orders” was rejected and the accused hanged. Perhaps this episode should be more widely known within Russia’s military today. Patrick O’Connor QC, Doughty Street Chambers, London

Western feebleness To The Daily Telegraph

From the self-congratulatory talk of Western governments, one would be forgiven for thinking that all banks operating in Russia were banned from Swift. There are, however, hundreds of banks operating in Russia able to utilise Swift, as only seven have been denied access. One does not have to be a financial wizard to reroute funds via an alternative bank.

Are we so reluctant to compromise our way of life that we will continue to finance the Russian conquest? Have we not learnt the lesson, after we failed to make a stand when Russia invaded Georgia, and failed again when Crimea was annexed?

Each time Vladimir Putin sees our equivocation, he goes for a bigger prize. We never raise our game enough and he can see that we value our comfort more than anything. Are our so-called Western

values meaningless in the face of brute force?

Alastair MacMillan, Port Glasgow, Renfrewshire

The cost of happiness To the Financial Times

Rishi Sunak believes that low taxation is beneficial to a country. The 2022 World Happiness Report was recently released and the ten happiest nations in the world are, in order, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Israel and New Zealand. The UK is 17th and the US 16th.

Are these happy countries also low-tax countries? On OECD calculations, these ten nations have extremely high taxes. In all these countries, the ratio of total tax revenue as a proportion of GDP is above, or typically much above, the OECD average of 33.5%.

One interpretation of this is that the things that taxes go on to buy – an effective health service, social safety nets, defence against aggressors

– are exceptionally important to human beings.

It is the job of finance ministers, of course, to do what they think is right for their citizens. Equally, it is the job of university professors to help inform citizens about the balance of the latest evidence. Andrew J. Oswald, professor of economics and behavioural science, University of Warwick

Doctor who? To The Times

Jeremy Hunt, who was health secretary from 2012 to 2018, has at last understood the importance of continuity of care in general practice (“Seeing same GP helps in spotting cancer, says Hunt”).

The decision by Alan Johnson, as health secretary in 2008, to introduce legislation to allow patients to register with a practice rather than an individual GP has led to a dilution of the personal responsibility held by a GP for his or her patients. This, in turn, has made the career less rewarding and is one reason why there is a recruitment crisis in general practice.

Dr Andrew Cairns, Rtd GP, Petersfield, Hampshire

A very hairy question To The Times

I don’t feel strongly about beards one way or the other (“Pass the razor – the hipster beard is over”), but I do dislike the habit of most beardwearers to be constantly ferreting about in them. What are they looking for?

Sally Bevan, Chelmsford, Essex