Sir, – Now that all our lives are overtaken by events in Ukraine, it is high time to take a cold- eyed view of the shifting shape of the world and the radical re-alignments between countries which these events have thrown into sharper relief. The largest Eastern and Western states are now ranged against each other and are rapidly solidifying into opposing blocs. In the East, Russia and China are hardening their stance as they revert to Cold War attitudes towards Western camps. The West – chiefly the US and the EU – is girding its loins with matching weaponry to face apparently implacable foes.…
