Will Trump finally stand up to Putin?

Russia invaded NATO this week, says Christian Caryl in Foreign Policy. "Any other description is an obfuscation." On Tuesday night, at least 19 drones flew deep into Polish airspace, where they either crashed or were shot down by NATO jets. The Russians claim the incursion was an accident and that some of the unmanned vehicles weren't theirs. "Don't buy any of it." This was Vladimir Putin testing the defence alliance's resolve. Will other members – the US in particular – make it clear that this sort of aggression will not be tolerated? They're not short of options. They could immediately provide Ukraine with long-range missiles, or seize the roughly $300bn of Russian assets frozen in Western banks and send it to Kyiv. Accommodating dictators always ends badly. NATO needs to "respond decisively".

Military officials have long worried that Putin would intensify Russia's war in Ukraine by hitting its supply lines in Poland, says Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times. He clearly thought the risks of attacking targets on NATO territory weren't worth it – until now. And this is exactly how Putin operates: "he tests and measures the reaction". If this fundamental challenge to NATO is met with nothing more than "indignant tweets", he will escalate further. Most of all, it is a test for Donald Trump. "Will he ever stand up to Putin and impose the tougher sanctions he keeps talking about?" The US president first warned of economic countermeasures back in January. He has since threatened sanctions that would be "crushing for Russia", and set an August deadline for a ceasefire that came and went. After such a "parade of bluster", is it any surprise Putin doesn't take his warnings seriously?

Advertisement

Property

THE VINEYARD Pilgrims Nook Vineyard near Dover, Kent was planted in 2019 to produce English sparkling wine and has since had three successful harvests, says The Times. Covering 12.65 acres, the land has been planted with pinot meunier, pinot noir and chardonnay as well as a small area of ortega grapes. At the vineyard's entrance is a recently constructed barn, connected to power and water, suited to becoming a winery. £600,000. Click on the image to see the full listing.

Heroes and villains

Andrew Harnik/Getty

Hero
Kamala Harris, according to Kamala Harris, who argues in her new memoir 107 Days that she would have done a great job as US vice-president – and presumably beaten Donald Trump to the presidency – had she not been constantly undermined by Joe Biden's team. Even if you buy that somewhat far-fetched narrative, says Jim Geraghty in The Washington Post, it was "her show" after she replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee last summer. The reader is left asking: if you did such a terrific job, "why couldn't you manage to win even one swing state"?

Hero
Dan Shillito, a lorry driver who leapt into action when he saw police holding a man dangling off the edge of a bridge on the M1. "I drove the lorry underneath him so at least if he fell, he would only fall a short distance," the 34-year-old tells The Times. "Then I ran around, jumped up on the container and supported him." Shillito held the man on his shoulders for around eight minutes, before the officers safely lowered him on to the container without injury. "His son messaged me to say thank you, and said 'You've saved my family.'"

We've got some real bangers for you

We like to change the pace on Saturdays and Sundays to give a bit more room for longer pieces, features and ideas. The rest of today's email, for example, includes Olivia Potts on the ancient glory of sausages and Matthew Syed on the bizarre experience of trying to be selected as a Labour candidate in the 2010 election. Plus of course there's the rest of this week's heroes and villains, including the other Mark Zuckerberg and a very naughty nacktschnecke.

To enjoy the whole newsletter, and go back to receiving The Knowledge in full every day, please take out a subscription. It'll take just 30 seconds, and new subscribers get 50% off, meaning it's only £4 a month or £40 for the year.

Click here to subscribe

Let us know what you thought of today's issue by replying to this email
To find out about advertising and partnerships, click here
Been forwarded this newsletter? Try it for free
Enjoying The Knowledge? Click to share