Edward Jones says Nato needs to change the equation for Russia’s president so that the war is not worth the cost, while Philip Mathias says unless a settlement is achieved, loss of life and destruction will continue

Simon Jenkins (Keir Starmer’s missile bravado could jeopardise Nato’s careful balancing act in Ukraine, 16 September) is right that the west must be delicate in its approach to the Russia-Ukraine war to avoid escalation, but the article ignores the impact of the current policy of refusing the use of British and American weapons against Russian territory.

Russia has been abusing that policy to use its territory as a free iron dome, courtesy of Nato, using Ukraine’s imposed limits to allow it to freely bombard Ukrainian cities from just across the border, where Kyiv is unable to retaliate. Putin knows that in a long-term war of attrition under the status quo, Russia will win by default.