What will it take for the rest of the world to step up to Putin?

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

Surely governments are sufficiently pragmatic to want to stop Putin extending his land grab to Nato countries (Sputnik)

How much more death and destruction in Ukraine will it take for Western nations to take their responsibilities seriously, step up to the mark and provide President Zelensky with the weaponry he needs to have a realistic hope of pushing the Russian forces back to the border?

Even if the humanitarian disaster that is occurring to Ukrainians is not enough for Europe and the USA to massively increase their contributions, surely the governments are sufficiently pragmatic to want to stop Putin extending his land grab to Nato countries?

David Felton

Cheshire

The government cannot be allowed to starve the NHS

The story of the patient left to lie in his own urine is quite shocking. We know that the NHS and its staff are under great pressure, and yet the government appears to be remarkably silent on such matters.

The NHS is the last great public institution which has not yet been privatised, and it would appear that in the meantime, the government is prepared to do very little to support the needs of staff and, ultimately, those who may need to use its services.

We have heard many times that the NHS is not for sale, but like so many other public services, it seems to be a victim of budgetary cuts and the stated need to “do more with less”, which has been echoed before in other public bodies.

One is tempted to think that the next step is for the government to announce that the only way of saving it is to privatise it. Some honesty and transparency are now needed.

Mark Morsman

London

When will the Tories put us out of our misery?

We all get that Sunak’s priority now is just to sit it out so he can claim two years as prime minster on his CV, but enough is enough.

No one, not even the Tories, can be so delusional that they think voters are going to be mad enough to opt for more chaos and more decimation of infrastructure; more damage to international credibility and more ruin of the lives of ordinary people.

As the messaging from the likes of Braverman and Anderson gets ever more deranged, the single most effective thing this government could do is call a general election immediately.

Put us all out of our misery.

Amanda Baker

Edinburgh

All Labour needs to do at this point is prove that they care about working people

The announcement this week of huge profits made at utilities and banks are bewildering in light of the financial state of the nation and its workforce.

It seems incongruous that while savers and mortgagers receive lamentable financial aid, the lenders make eye-watering, excessive profits. Their senior managers receive bonuses at the expense of their customers suffering.

The Tory government has boasted much but achieved little to stem the disastrous state of our finances. Mr Sunak has allowed the business fraternity to increase costs to those who can afford it least.

I think it is ironic that while Britain is suffering a recession, when people are starving, shivering and using food banks, that there is still so much inequality and greed in this country. Something is very wrong when the balance of life is between no food or too much money.

Conservative governance has led to greater differences in standards of living. They have feathered the nests of many rich people while denying those that desperately need financial support. They have widened that gulf between the haves and have nots.

My advice to Mr Starmer to oust the Tories is: Show the people of Britain that you care about us and will do your best to improve our lives.

Keith Poole

Basingstoke