Vladimir putin

Wednesday

Rupert Darwall

Europe is paying the price for its soft power delusion

From our UK edition

For decades, Britain has, like the rest of Europe, clung to a deluded belief in soft power. Within minutes of being appointed prime minister in May 2010, David Cameron was outside No. 10 declaring that Britain was to become ‘more compassionate abroad’. This was where the new government was heading: soft power was on the up and hard power degraded. The 2010 manifesto pledged to meet the UN target of spending 0.7 per cent of national income on overseas aid by 2013. The government produced a strategic defence and security review that would see defence spending fall by 22 per cent in real terms. Gaps in key capabilities would be tolerated on the assumption that there would be no European war within the next ten years.

Saturday

Scott Diel

Is Estonia really preparing for war with Russia?

“Prepare for war,” was the message from Estonian EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to the European Defence Agency last year. And Estonia has: its 2026 defense expenditure is 5.4 percent of GDP, the second highest in Europe. Citizens are advised by the government to keep an emergency supply of 21 liters of drinking water per person permanently on hand. A survival checklist has also been published, including ready-to-eat, high-energy foods, prescription medications, a bank card, cell phone with charger and a stock of ready cash. The country’s authorities don’t mince their words.

estonia

Tuesday

Owen Matthews

‘More than half our squad were executed’: Inside Russia’s rotten army

The Russians are on the warpath – and Europe is Vladimir Putin’s next target. That was British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s alarming claim at the Munich Security Conference in February. Britons "must be ready to fight, to do whatever it takes to protect our people, our values, and our way of life," Starmer warned. Britain and Germany’s top military commanders delivered the same message in a recent article. Russia’s military posture "has shifted decisively westward," wrote Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton and General Carsten Breuer. Soon the Kremlin "may be emboldened to extend its aggression beyond Ukraine." Really? According to much western coverage in mainstream and social media, the Russian army is crumbling, corrupt and inept.