Despite increasingly frantic warnings from Washington about an “imminent” attack, all-out war in Ukraine is not inevitable. Far from it. Russian president Vladimir Putin’s military pressure tactics are working. The west has been forced to listen to his grievances. Fighting could start soon. But US intelligence is not exact, and Moscow is adept at spreading disinformation and fear. Just as likely, this standoff could last months. Meanwhile, diplomacy still has a chance.
The best hope remains the path to peace outlined last week by French president Emmanuel Macron during talks with Putin in Moscow. How shaming, and dangerous, that Boris Johnson’s government is so unsupportive. Brexit Britain, detached by choice from the EU and in thrall to US policy, is undermining European diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis.
