The NATO border argument put forward by pro-Russian commentators, Russian bot factories and the easily influenced does not stand up to scrutiny. The case for the Russian invasion of Ukraine is far simpler, Russian President Vladimir Putin has never been held to account and has been allowed to get away with so much military aggression.

Putin is a dictator, that is clear and he has controlled a reasonably large and arguably powerful military. Whilst that claim is now disputed by the Ukrainian military forces, the threat of the Russian nuclear arsenal is real. Every time the Russian forces are threatened by a strong Ukrainian military, Putin trots out the old nuclear threat to try to submit Europe to his will. They are less fearful now, but they can never be complacent, the threat is always there.

Finland’s President Alexander Stubb has warned that Russia wants to prolong the war, they believe they can outlast Ukraine by wearing European support down. There are no signs Russia is seeking to negotiate an end to this war. Any talk of a ceasefire has failed, even Donald Trump is slowly starting to see that he is being played by Putin. Trump was too eager to make a deal and offered nothing.

With Finland’s accession to NATO, the border with NATO has been extended by 1340 km and is heavily fortified. The whole Russian NATO border argument has been exposed, they did not order an attack on Finland prior to joining NATO. Ukraine is different, so why won’t Putin negotiate an end to the war. I am reading that Russia is now entering a negative growth period now, we know inflation is high and a recession is just beginning. Russia is losing men, losing equipment and losing the wealth generated from the oil.