VLADIMIR PUTIN’S evil was inspired by a massive failing from the West.
He was watching closely when blundering Joe Biden abandoned our allies in Afghanistan last year.
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Now the madman in the Kremlin is counting on us repeating that mistake over Ukraine.
But Putin has miscalculated.
Far from the West becoming divided over Ukraine, the conflict has united us.
The gut-wrenching images of war have pressured pacifist Germany to re-arm, humble Finland to seek safety in NATO and even the neutral Swiss to come off the fence.
And unlike the paper tiger in the White House, Ukraine’s Iron Man President Volodymr Zelenskyy has emerged as one of the greatest leaders of the 21st Century.
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His emotional speeches from the war zone have stirred the world.
But his demands yesterday for a no-fly zone must still be treated with caution. Such a move would play right into Putin’s hands and allow him the excuse he craves to escalate the crisis.
Britain must get as many anti-tank missiles and other weapons as we can to the brave Ukrainian troops.
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But the best route to defeating the tyrant remains economic.
Boris Johnson has led the way in applying Russian sanctions which are hurting Putin so much he yesterday declared them “an act of war’’ and even made threats to Britain.
Ordinary Russians have relied on Western goods for too long now to put up with going back to Soviet era queues.
Putin’s outburst yesterday shows sanctions are slowly strangling him.
No oligarch loophole
PUTIN’S oligarch cronies must never be allowed to dodge sanctions by hiding behind human rights laws.
It is disgraceful if privacy-obsessed legal firms, which have obstructed the British press for years, are now helping to shield oligarchs as Ukraine burns.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab must act urgently so rich and powerful wrongdoers can no longer hide their private lives or cash from proper scrutiny.
Ministers have been talking about reforming human rights legislation for years. Now get on with it.
Pride in Churchill
BRAVE Nastya Zagoruychik took a picture of herself with Winston Churchill’s statue to send home after fleeing the war.
For her it is a proud symbol of liberty.
So why do ignorant mobs in Britain see it as a target for desecration?
