The West has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the US, EU, and UK have imposed harsh sanctions on Russia. Nonetheless, Putin’s war rages on, with at least two “powerful” explosions hitting the outskirts of Lviv earlier today. Maksym Kozytsky, the city’s governor, said there were two missile strikes, but other reports said three loud bangs were heard, and an oil depot was hit.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said last night that his “heroic armed forces had dealt powerful blows to the enemy,” following Putin’s suggestion that he may scale back his ambitions in Ukraine and focus on taking the Donbas.

Mr Zelensky did, however, add that the situation in the besieged city of Mariupol was deteriorating, with tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the southeastern city without water, food, or heating.

Putin has been labelled a “war criminal” by US President Joe Biden in the last month after Russian shelling targeted a school, a maternity hospital, and a theatre thought to be sheltering over 1000 civilians.

Meanwhile, the President’s invasion has made Russia a pariah state, and his nuclear threats have put the world on high alert.

Despite the brutality and bravado displayed by Putin in the last month, the Russian leader once sent a “plea for caution” to the US, urging the country not to attack Russia’s ally Syria.

Putin warned the US not to attack Syria because it would violate international law and disrupt the world order.

In a letter to the American people published in the New York Times in 2014, Putin stated that it was critical for nations to act within the parameters established by the United Nations.

“The founders of the United Nations understood that decisions affecting war and peace should be made only by consensus,” he wrote, “and the veto by Security Council permanent members was enshrined in the United Nations Charter with America’s consent.”

“For decades, the profound wisdom of this has underpinned the stability of international relations.”

“No one wants the United Nations to follow in the footsteps of the League of Nations, which collapsed due to a lack of real leverage.”

“This is possible if powerful countries bypass the United Nations and conduct military operations without Security Council authorization.”

The leader then discussed the potential consequences of a US strike on Syria, claiming that innocent people could be killed and a new wave of terrorism could be unleashed.

“The potential US strike against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the Pope,” Putin continued, “will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders.”

“A strike would exacerbate violence and spark a new wave of terrorism.”

“It could destabilise the Middle East and North Africa further by undermining multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

“It has the potential to upset the entire system of international law and order.”

Of course, since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, he has been condemned by world leaders, including the Pope, while the senseless act of aggression has destabilised the West and created a massive refugee crisis in Europe.

“From the beginning, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue, allowing Syrians to develop a compromise plan for their own future,” the Russian President continued.

“We are defending international law, not the Syrian government.”

“We must use the United Nations Security Council because we believe that maintaining law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from devolving into chaos.”

“Under current international law, force is only permitted in self-defense or by a Security Council decision.” Anything else would be an act of aggression and would be in violation of the United Nations Charter.”

The same year Putin delivered his speech to the United States, Russia’s President violated international law by annexing the Crimean peninsula, igniting years of conflict between Russia and Ukraine.