Irish Examiner view: The West cannot bow to Putin's threats

The civilised world must remember that appeasement did not work with Adolf Hitler and it will not work with Vladimir Putin

Russian president Vladimir Putin is the latest autocrat whose sanity has been the cause of speculation but the west ought to focus instead on a lesson from history — appeasement does not work with dictators. Picture: Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/AP 

Following his less-than-subtle threats against “new targets” in Ukraine if the US sends long-range rockets as part of its military aid package to the country, questions are once more being asked about the wellbeing of the Russian president.

These are questions that seemingly are the lot of authoritarian behemoths down the years.