Any dispassionate analysis of what has happened since Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine commencing 24th Feb 2022 must come to the conclusion that the West has been, in Macron's words, "brain dead." Not only did the USA and the UK once again totally fail to live up to the legally binding commitment they made in 1994 to defend Ukraine's territorial integrity, but even worse they, along with all other NATO members, sat passively on the sidelines for months during which time Ukraine fought against terrible odds.

Then, the reaction of NATO was persistently to do far too little, far too late. This has enabled Russia to adapt to Ukraine's innovative tactics and thereby evolve past current NATO doctrine. This in turn makes Russia a more formidable adversary despite the lasting corruption, incompetence, and stupidity that runs from top to bottom and which has rendered its military little more than rabble-in-uniform.

In short, NATO has proven itself utterly useless and a complete waste of space. This means that Poland will dominate much of Europe because it will shortly be the largest military power. Germany will remain feeble, the UK is dead post-Brexit, and France will return to relative isolationism. If we tell ourselves Russia is doomed to collapse, we ought to ponder our own immediate future - not least because the creature Trump is almost certain to return to the White House in 2025 and thereafter complete his evisceration of the USA as a semi-functioning society, turning it into a corrupt and imploding autocracy.