HMS Defender warning is reminder from Putin of where war could break out

By turning the choppy waters of the Black Sea into a potential battlefield Russia has scuttled any hope of resetting its relationship with the West. When a Russian vessel fires warning shots across the bows of a British destroyer and a high-powered Su-24 warplane drops charges in its path you know that President Putin remains as committed as ever to escalating tensions with Nato.

The latest trigger-happy incident was unprecedented in recent times. Britain scrambled Typhoons last year when Russian strategic Bear class bombers flew just north of Shetland. And the UK tracks Russian warships as they transit through the English Channel from the Baltic Sea into the Mediterranean. But the Black Sea encounter, so soon after a US-Russian summit that was supposed to set