The offensive, we are told, will take many forms. The first sign may well be a cyber-attack knocking out the power grid and internet, jamming mobile phone networks. Well-funded paramilitaries within Ukraine’s borders will be encouraged to create as much disorder as possible. There will be a blitz of propaganda, misinformation and false-flag operations. And then – finally – the blood sacrifice: the trained young men and women prepared to lay down their bodies for greater Russia.
Perhaps we all got a taste of how this might play out on a much smaller scale on Thursday night. As a distraught Kamila Valieva left the ice after a disastrous skate that would cost her a medal in the Olympic women’s competition, the first person to greet her was her coach, Eteri Tutberidze. “Why did you let it go?” she screeched at Valieva in disbelief. “Explain it to me. Why? Why did you stop fighting?”
