The UN Secretary-General is playing into Putin’s hands

They are expected to include Xi Jinping of China, Narendra Modi of India and even the secretary-general of the United Nations, António Guterres. For those who imagined that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the well-attested war crimes of its forces would see the aggressor become an international pariah, this is a massive disappointment – to put it mildly.

For the Ukrainians it must be utterly perplexing, as well as infuriating, to see the head of the UN – a body that has condemned the invasion as illegal – attending such a gathering. In March 2022, the general assembly of the UN demanded that “the Russian Federation immediately cease its unlawful use of force against Ukraine”.

How can Mr Guterres possibly travel to Kazan and give Putin the kudos he seeks from this conference? Among the others in attendance will be president Erdogan of Turkey, a Nato member showing support for the Kremlin even as others in the alliance pour money and weapons into Ukraine.

The summit will be the biggest in Russia since the invasion and Putin will use it to show that Western attempts to isolate Moscow have failed. Putin is restrained from travelling because a warrant for his arrest has been issued by the International Criminal Court. He will not be attending the G20 in Brazil next month; instead, the same people have beaten a path to his door, in what he will hail as a diplomatic coup.

Since the full-scale invasion almost three years ago, leaders have reassured the Ukrainians that the world is on their side. Sadly, this is evidently no longer the case, if it ever was.