The threat of nuclear war won’t deter delusional autocrats like Putin

Letters to the editor: our readers share their views. Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

Let’s not forget that Putin has been testing the west’s capacity to respond for years (AP)

For all of my 70 years, we have been sold the line that having a nuclear deterrent is the way of securing world peace; that the threat of mutual assured destruction (MAD) would be enough to prevent anyone from deploying a nuclear weapon.

The war in Ukraine has shown how wrong we were. The possession of a nuclear arsenal allows amoral aggressors to use conventional weapons – including chemical ones – to obliterate innocent people while the world watches and does not intervene for fear of the nuclear nightmare that may ensue.

Let’s not forget that Putin has been testing the west’s capacity to respond for years – with incursions in Chechnya, Georgia, Crimea, Syria and Salisbury – and been emboldened every time we backed off, granting him the freedom to invade Ukraine.