Seems like things are escalating with NATO weapons being used to hit targets on Russian soil - not before time in my opinion. But we get constant threats by the Russian regime to retaliate by using nuclear weapons in some form or other. Is it a bluff to scare us into appeasement or a real threat? Who knows but Putin and his cronies are probably sick enough and disillusioned enough to do it. China sits on the sidelines supporting Russia and performs war drills over Taiwan whilst selling everything it can produce to the West to fuel its economy. Should more pressure be put on China (also India and Brazil for that matter) as at least Putin listens to XI. Watching our news - we seem more concerned about Diane Abbott, the Euros, the Economy, the NHS and who will be the next Chelsea manager. And Gaza whilst clearly an unfolding humanitarian disaster is headline news every time Biden or Netanyahu utters something - yet it is not on our doorstep and not an existential threat to us. Hardly any mention of bolstering our Defence in the election except for an offbeat National Service policy and the prospect of increasing our Defence budget to 2% or 2.5% when we can afford it. Whilst in parallel Putin puts his entire economy onto a war footing and threatens to blow us out of existence every five minutes.

Are we really heading for the abyss or is it all just a bluff? Anyone worried? I know I am but happy to be convinced otherwise. Just seems like the West is lacking strong leadership and just reacting to situations without any clear strategy.