CHRIS HUGHES: Desperate Putin's British Council attack was a massive escalation

It seems the Kyiv British Council building was deliberately targeted by Russian missiles with a double-tap strike in central Kyiv. Stooges of Russian President Vladimir Putin have indicated they believed “British gentlemen” were in the complex at the time. This is a massive escalation as a deliberate attempt on the lives of British charity officials who, though independent, receive Foreign Office funding.

It is almost certainly a war-crime as a deliberate targeting of a civilian building and an attempt on the lives of non-military Brits based in Ukraine. Unless the Kremlincan prove offensive and active military assets were inside the building at the time - and they will not be able to do that. Of course, the Kremlin will not make the distinction as 90 per cent of their missile and drone targetings are thought to be aimed at civilians.

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It is likely the building has been under some kind of surveillance by Kremlin spies and that there is now a massive manhunt underway for Kyiv’s super-efficient SBU spy agency to track down Putin’s agents. For years Russia has been operating in what has been called the ‘grey zone’ against the UK, Vladimir Putin’s most loathed target after Ukraine.

This is an area of combat, sabotage, espionage, cyber-hacking, all trades used in the shadowy world of intelligence agencies that is just below the threshold for war. But increasingly his military and spy agencies, with the Salisbury Novichok attack in 2018 and others before it such as the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006, are poking their heads out of this zone.

The British Council is a charity that promotes cultural relations and education by building connections. It does this via arts and culture, learning and providing opportunities for foreign countries.

It represents the softest of powers by creating an undefinable but nevertheless relevant and important link between the UK and other countries and their people. They are not diplomats but their work represents cultural diplomacy.

Putin must be seething at the idea of Ukraine and the UK swapping cultural ideas and making connections, pivoting so far away from his thuggish authoritarianism. So far he has not succeeded in driving a wedge between Kyiv and other capitals in Europe, although the jury is out on whether he has done it between Europe and the US.

And that is what makes so little sense, even from the mind of a belligerent sociopath, in attacking the British Council. Far from striking a wedge between Kyiv and the west, as a strategy this moronic military action will solidify relations between Kyiv and London.

But he only understands force as a means to persuade - now he has the blood of at least 15 more civilians including four children on his hands and tragically these will not be the last. His deliberate targeting of non-military sites is not just a waste of lives and of course his depleting missile collection, but it is making the west even more determined to back Kyiv.

Every one of his vile attacks serves to remind the world that he does not want peace, he wants to dominate liberal Ukraine and if he can’t have it, destroy it. These latest attacks are a clear sign he is getting desperate and wants to vandalise any progress towards peace.

Strategically, despite the appalling loss of life, this will long-term play into Kyiv’s hands, further nudging the US towards edging away from supporting Moscow. This has to force Trump into action against Putin, even just with sanctions and, if not, it will indicate finally that Ukraine and Europe may well be alone against the Russian despot and his allies. And that for whatever reason Putin really does control Trump.