Simon Jenkins, describing his horror at our new prime minister considering whether to allow Ukraine to use British missiles for strikes deep into Russia, is a rare voice of reason in a chorus of relentless escalation (It’s worrying to see the prime minister cheerleading for war. Will Ukraine turn into Starmer’s Iraq?, 15 July). Western leaders across the board seem to have forgotten the promises made to Mikhail Gorbachev more than 30 years ago, assuring him of our commitment to not extend the borders of Nato into the old Soviet bloc.
Since then, we have seen numerous former Soviet states join Nato, leaving Russia encircled to the west, with hostile missiles, troops, tanks and planes now pointing in its direction from its own backyard. Russian discomfort at this situation over the past 20 years has been ignored, and it is my belief that the invasion of Ukraine was entirely due to the fear that Ukraine too would be accepted into the Nato alliance.
There doesn’t seem to be a single western leader or military strategist who is seeking to understand the Russian position; they seem to think it’s perfectly acceptable for Nato to extend its sphere of influence into Russia’s back garden.
Those who forget the lessons of history are destined to repeat its mistakes. Ironically, our best hope of averting the third world war may turn out to be the election of Donald Trump. He is a narcissistic maniac, but he would appear to be the only leader who appreciates the danger of this new era of western imperialism. He alone understands the futility of pouring billions into a war that Ukraine cannot win without Nato troops on the ground and planes in the sky. Nato appears to have a severe case of groupthink; meanwhile, the survival of human civilisation is in grave danger.
Jonathan Gorse
Milland, West Sussex
• Simon Jenkins thinks that Putin “needs to be extricated” from the “terrible mistake” he made in marching on Kyiv and that it is the duty of Nato and the west to oblige him in this, presumably by pressurising Volodymyr Zelenskiy to give up territory in the east. He also slates Zelenskiy for the deaths of thousands of conscripts, with no mention of the many thousands of deaths that Putin’s “mistake” has inflicted on his own countrymen, never mind Ukraine. Placating Putin with territory will not work.
What Nato and the west need to do, and should have done from the start, is to offer Ukraine the support it needs to push Putin back to the extent Ukraine itself decides is sufficient. And Jenkins needs to extricate himself from the dreadful mistake of thinking otherwise.
Karen Miller
Beckenham, London
• Vladimir Putin may well have made a terrible mistake invading Ukraine, but he decided to burn the bridges by declaring the Donbas and Crimea to be Russian territory – he cannot negotiate any compromise without losing face (and, by implication, his power).
That is the dilemma for the west. Losing Ukraine to Russia will encourage further expansion, Moldova and Georgia being obvious targets. The Baltic states and, ultimately, Poland have reasons to be wary.
I always favour diplomacy, but I fail to see how meaningful peace negotiations could take place in the current situation. Of course, Putin’s empire, wedded to a course of permanent expansion, will eventually collapse, like all empires. But at the moment, sadly, I see no alternative to stopping this expansion by all means necessary.
Dr Wolfgang Heinemann
Bochum, Germany
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