Letters: We shouldn’t look down on those who attend AA

End the war

Sir: Timothy Garton Ash’s article on Ukraine evokes echoes of the first world war, with interviews of brave soldiers who have lost limbs in Russian minefields (‘Europe’s problem’, 21 October). He acknowledges that Ukraine’s losses have been huge, yet supports bullish calls for the war to continue ‘for years, or even decades’.

The big lesson we should take is that Ukraine’s offensive has been a dismal failure. Large quantities of western hardware lie burnt out on Ukraine’s steppes. The Russians are well dug in. They have many more troops than Ukraine, and Vladimir Putin is prepared to sacrifice them if need be. Without direct use of western forces, which would be a dangerous escalation, recovery of all Ukraine’s lost territory is no longer a realistic option.

Continuing support for this war is unlikely to be a winning formula for the candidates in the 2024 US elections, especially as America has other urgent calls for its assistance. Putin’s downfall would indeed be a war aim worth our support, were it not that his replacement would most likely be a Prigozhin type. Garton Ash exhorts us that ‘Europe needs to lead on economic, social and political support’. There is absolutely no reason to believe that Europe has the resources to make up for the billions of dollars in aid supplied by the United States to Ukraine, were it to be withdrawn. US aid to Ukraine since the start of the war is equivalent to over a third of the EU’s total annual budget.

The West needs to encourage Zelensky to accept Ukraine’s loss of territory and negotiate a speedy end to this brutal war.

Richard North

Hayling Island, Hampshire

Israel’s response

Sir: At no stage in Douglas Murray’s article (‘Glorying in slaughter’, 21 October) does he concede that some criticism of Israel’s collective punishments may be valid.