Russia and the UK are hardly bosom buddies these days and the relationship must be at its worst since the days of the Cold War. Russias activities in the Ukraine and Syria have contributed to the poor state of relations between the two adversarial nations.
What with incursions just outside of British air space and British waters by the Russians this has built up to a level of hostility not seen since the Soviet Union.
Putin has been throwing his weight around the world for a while now and in one quote Prince Charles actually compared the Russian President to Adolf Hitler.
Verbal war of the aircraft carriers
Michael Fallon, British Defence Secretary, announced after a gap of many years the UK has a brand new aircraft carrier, Hms Queen Elizabeth. This massive colossus is meant to show that the UK can still punch above its weight around the world should the need arise. Michael Fallon, possibly getting carried away with the thought of deploying the UK's new state of the art aircraft carrier, decided to insult Russia's, Admiral Kuznetsov.
Fallon described the Soviet-era carrier as "Old and dilapidated" which given its record of breaking down at sea he may have a point. Naval experts have pointed out that the steam gushing from Kuznetsov's funnel and the fact it is escorted by tugs shows the ship is not in the best of mechanical health.
Relic or not the Admiral Kuznetsov should not be written off altogether it still has the capability to defend itself but how it would fare up against HMS Queen Elizabeth is not known. The Russians responded by saying that the UK's new aircraft carrier should keep away from Russias Admiral Kuznetsov.
Putin's dream
Vladimir Putin wanted to make Russia great again long before Trump coined the term.
Obviously, the Russians are still a nuclear power and this still makes Russia a world player. Russian conventional forces are a threat hence NATO beefing up its defences in the Baltic and Eastern Europe. On the cyber front, Russia is confronting its enemies like its alleged interference in the US Presidential election.
Putin like the Russian chess masters is a shrewd and intelligent operator and should never be taken for a fool.
The ex-KGB operative and black belt in Judo is a gambler who is not afraid to take risks and Russias enemies would do well remember this. The Russian bear has woken from its slumber and is stalking the world again.
