Lord Robertson, Nato secretary-general and former defence secretary, talked yesterday of “ham-fisted” and “disproportionate” tactics. If the West simply looks the other way, bad behaviour will not be followed by better behaviour, but only by worse. In reality, the opposite is the case.This loss of a moral and political compass has important implications for the way the West should react. The politicians refuse to admit what is happening; depressingly, millions of ordinary Russians seem to have been equally bamboozled, believing that the assault shows a “strong Russia”. The rebels, well protected in their bunkers, will survive unscathed.Once Grozny is “secured” by the Russian army, the backlash will soon begin. The Russians, holed up in their military barracks, will be attacked by the rebels on all sides and will eventually have to withdraw.

The pattern is all too familiar.It almost defies belief that the Russians themselves have not yet understood these obvious truths. In the event, it took many months – and the victory was in any case soon reversed Now, the pattern is repeating itself. At the beginning of the latest assault on Chechnya, the generals predicted a swift victory, which never came. Many innocent civilians will certainly be killed in the assault on Grozny. Action is finally needed, not just words.Apart from any moral considerations, Russia has lost the political plot. In the first war on Chechnya in 1994-95, the Kremlin was confident that it would defeat the rebels within a few days.

Mr Cook suggested yesterday that future financial assistance might be “debated” at this week’s EU summit in Helsinki That, too, smacks of fudge. Robin Cook, the UK Foreign Secretary, summoned the Russian Ambassador as a sign of British displeasure The Kremlin will, however, not be quaking in its boots. The explanation should be upfront: if you slaughter people, you won’t get the cash It is as simple as that. The International Monetary Fund has announced a delay on the latest tranche of a $640m loan to Russia – but has fudged the issue by referring to economic problems. The fate of the homeless refugees is perceived as irrelevant to the policy-makers in the Kremlin.
Shamefully, softly-softly is still the order of the day in the West. Newspapers can criticise the government without being closed down.