The world is more dangerous than it’s ever been. The US has escalated a campaign of reckless violence across the globe to try to offset its long-term decline. All pretence at restraint has been removed as the US tries to maintain its global hegemony.

President Trump's belligerent, confrontational tactics are one way of securing US global power, but some in Washington are concerned about the longer term consequences where its power and influence may actually be weakened.

Ukraine’s attack on Russia in early August – confirmed as a western operation by Ukrainian official Mikhailo Podolyak and many other sources – is designed to prolong the war by showing that Ukraine can “achieve results”, as Zelensky put it. It crosses a red line, the first major western attack on Russian territory since the Nazis, and shows clearly the West’s belligerent intent. President Putin called the move a “large scale provocation” and said it removed any “taboos” in terms of Russia’s response.