The Russians are masters of Maskirovka, the art of distraction, disinformation and misdirection. After sabotaging the transatlantic economy, the next stage is to destabilise Europe and break its resilience by fermenting social unrest, political conflict, and riots. The current waves of protest are likely to erupt across Europe with the potential of triggering a bond crisis, are deliberate and part of a hostile plan to remove Europe from the board.

Ukraine was stabbed in the back yesterday. Its defenders found their access to Starshield and Intel on incoming missile strikes suddenly blocked. Trump is saying nothing – but it's increasingly clear the orders came from POTUS. Trump is furious that Zelensky refuses to surrender Ukraine to his good chum Putin. It represents a new nadir of the Trump presidency.

Tensions between Moscow and Europe are rising. There are rumours of war. While Western nations seek to rearm and adopt the lessons learnt by Ukraine, a bubble has developed in Mil-Tec arounds autonomy and drones. Defence investment is not a speculative opportunity – but a key issue for the sustainability and longevity of nations. It’s a complex investment landscape that requires specialist expert knowledge.

Something different for Morning Porridge Readers this morning, a guest post from my chum David Murrin.

Trump and Putin will agree Peace in Ukraine. The USA will walk away, leaving Europe to deal with the consequences of an unbeaten Russia. A new cold war will descend. That could provide the spark for a European rebirth around rearmament and a new unity of purpose, or instability as Russia seeks to pick off weak nations.

The weekend’s events in Syria highlight dramatic and swift change at the core of the geopolitical instability that’s defined the last few years. The cost in blood from conflict has been horrendous, but from a market and stability perspective there is now more to be positive about. Russia and Iran’s defeat in Syria could even trigger global recovery!

Europe is waking up to the reality of conflict, acutely aware of the need to defend itself, to invest and produce weapon systems to deter aggression in what is a vastly changed geopolitical landscape. With the right approach it may even become a driver of growth across the European economy.

Europe will face massive difficulties rejigging NATO for a post US era. It will be vulnerable to Russian disinformation while facing acute production, labour and cooperation instabilities. But if it could be done…..

This week’s Munich Security Conference saw much discussion around the Ukraine end game. The war is destroying Ukraine’s manpower – but what price peace? The West has to understand Russian weakness, and its own limits to impose a long-term and effective future for Ukraine – it rather depends on politics.

The Chinese economy has stalled, buffeted my multiple issues from banking, property and demographics. What happens next? The consequences of a China crash or downturn will be multiple and could create further instability.