Much of the public reaction and Government’s immediate focus in response to Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine over the past four months, has been on the humanitarian front. Rightly so, as at least 12 million people have been displaced as a direct result.

The UK has provided £1.5 billion economic and humanitarian aid. We have also welcomed refugees, with over 135,000 visas granted so far. Shropshire has played its part, with 445 visas issued and 322 individuals housed. My office has been helping saintly local people to navigate the visa application process for Ukrainian Guests, which I know has seemed tortuous at times, but Ukrainian authorities require to ensure  adults who travel with minors are who they say they are, and have safe homes to go to.

The UK has also provided £1.3 billion in military support directly to Ukraine thus far, including the tank-busting infantry weapons which made a huge impact in halting the initial assault from Belarus into the north of Ukraine.

Degradation of Russian military forces has been greater and swifter than expected. But this does not mean conflict is over or a foregone conclusion. Indeed I attended a briefing from the Chief of the Defence Staff earlier this week, who described this conflict as the end of the post-Cold War era, with reverberations which could last for decades.

This week has seen G7 and NATO leaders demonstrate a united front in condemning Russia for its atrocities. While on the eve of the NATO meeting this week Russia launched a rocket attack on a supermarket in Kyiv – a clear act of terror.

We as a nation need to wake up to the threat being posed by Putin. He is sending Russia into an autocratic tailspin. It is a catastrophic error, as the evidence from Ukraine shows, the Ukrainian people will fight to the last to avoid falling into a Russian fiefdom.

Independent media have been shut down and political opponents jailed in Russia. Some 50,000 Russian conscript troops have been killed or injured, but Putin cares not. His reckless actions have led to the soaring cost of energy and food.

NATO has decided to increase troops at readiness from 40,000 to 300,000. The UK is looking seriously at our contribution, refreshing our strategic context to recognise the primacy of the Russian threat to NATO, as Finland and Sweden seek to join.

The signs are there – we need to prepare for more Ukrainians leaving their homes, leaving their jobs, some joining the struggle.

But we also need to prepare ourselves for the consequences of a war in Europe, where the outcome is uncertain and may endure for some time. We must also invest in our own  domestic defence capability, to help transform our ability to deliver both the mass and the digital precision required should any conflict erupt.