I don’t know how much value I’d bring to Queen and country should Britain face invasion. I can’t imagine newsletter authors will be in much demand, and frankly they should nationalise Stephen Bush first.
But I’ve found two snippets of wisdom useful in the last few days. The first, from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War: all warfare is based on deception. And the second, to borrow a phrase more often more associated with the Cold War, ‘Doveryay, no proveryay’ – ‘trust, but verify’.
Armed Forces minister James Heappey said today that a Russian invasion is “very, very imminent if not inevitable”. And that despite claims from Moscow about troops being withdrawn, in fact thousands more have been moved towards Ukraine, which is now surrounded by a force of some 140,000.
Moreover, military formations were now “shaking out into their attack positions”, he added, emphasising that new bridges were being built, field hospitals set up, as well as fuel and ammunition stockpiled ready for an invasion.
Russia’s strategy relies in part on disinformation to sow confusion and destabilise foes. The US and its allies have attempted to counter this by publishing their own intelligence, from the day of the week the Russians are most likely to attack to their use of ‘false flags’ to act as a pretext for invasion.
Today, we report that pro-Russian forces have allegedly shelled a kindergarten in eastern Ukraine. The prime minister called it a “false flag operation designed to discredit the Ukrainians” while the foreign secretary said it was “straight out of the Kremlin playbook.” The grim reality is that there will be many more tense days and weeks to come.
Elsewhere in the paper Team GB have at last won a medal, guaranteeing themselves at least a silver by making the final of the men’s curling event.
In the comment pages, City Editor Oscar Williams-Grut says the Bank of England has been wrong-footed by the vibe shift in the economy. Meanwhile, Reveller Editor David Ellis rejoices that London’s gastronomic galaxy is now even more luminous.
And finally, in a welcome boost for the Queen ahead of the hereditary monarchy elections, Her Majesty has secured top spot in an Ipsos MORI poll of the nation’s favourite royals. No prizes for guessing who came in last place.
