Relations between Russia and the West have been deteriorating gradually.

What happened in Salisbury on a Sunday in early March can be added to a quite extraordinary
list that includes the shooting down of a long-haul passenger aircraft,
the invasion of a sovereign country (Ukraine),
and the use of barrel bombs and complicity in the use chemical weapons in Syria.

Add to that Russian aircraft flying dangerously close to crowded European airspace with transmitters switched off, interference in numerous elections and a build-up of conventional forces, and all in all you have a situation that is as every bit as worrying as 40 years ago.

In his state-of-the-nation address three weeks ago, Mr Putin spoke about the development of a nuclear weapon that couldn't be shot down by any anti-missile system - he backed this up with simulated graphics showing an attack on Florida.

It's remarkable in some ways that the West hasn't responded more aggressively.

There are some differences between the Cold War and now.

Russia is a much weaker prospect today than the Soviet Union was then.

It remains a nuclear state, and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, but the breakup of the USSR has meant that some of the former Soviet states, like Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, are now members of NATO.

Russia is financially weaker than the Soviet Union too - it has fewer trading partners than it did, and an economy smaller than any of the UK, France and Germany.

all above from - news.sky.com/story/its-not-a-new-cold-wa...s-dangerous-11291143

PS - I think Sky have made a mistake above ... Russia interfered with the election in Ukraine, and planted soldiers inside the country, but it was Crimea that was actually invaded.