The West needs to spread doubt and fear

Zakhar Prilepin is a well-known novelist in Russia and an ultra-nationalist warrior in Donbas. Once a member of the National Bolshevik party (yes, the left/right implications of its name are as bad as they sound), he is now a strong Putin supporter. He appeared on Russian state TV last Sunday to emphasise that the Russians should not try to appear nice and humane to the West (not a clear and present danger, one would have thought). Prilepin argued that Russia’s approach should be as harsh as possible: ‘If they [the West] are seriously afraid of the conflict with Russia, of WWIII, of nuclear war or the escalation of the conflict, we should be convincing them that we’re ready for it, that we love it, that we like to make war.’ I regret to say he is completely right. He has a better grasp of how to spread doubt and fear in your opponent than does President Biden, whose approach is almost the opposite. Among western leaders, existing or retired, Tony Blair seems to be the only one pointing out that loudly announcing all the things you won’t do in the face of ultra-aggression is not a deterrent to adventurism but an invitation. President Biden says Putin has ‘his back to the wall’; but where is Biden’s wall?

On Tuesday, I happened to watch a short online video from the Polish/Ukrainian border. David Fox-Pitt of Siobhan’s Trust (set up in memory of the much-loved Siobhan Dundee) was enthusiastically promoting the charity’s pizzas, biscuits, tea and coffee served to the refugees to help them get through the -10˚C night. He spoke of how most of those helped were women and children because their husbands, fathers and even grandfathers had stayed to fight. It reminded me of a key factor in the warm welcome people are giving fleeing Ukrainians, in Britain and across Europe.