Twenty-five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the hero of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, decided to revive a Cold War atmosphere in the world. The US and EU have voiced their concern.

Thanks to Putin, Ukraine is now on its knees. Russian armoured vehicles have kept rolling into eastern Ukraine while Russian military flights increased their activity around Europe.

Over these last few months, warplanes belonging to Nato member states have had to scramble about 400 times in response to this defiance by the Russians.

There is no question that, by annexing Crimea and arming separatists in eastern Ukraine, Putin has done irreparable damage to East-West relations – and to his country as well, which now finds itself not only isolated but also facing economic troubles.

The crisis between Ukraine and Russia has now reached an impasse.

The Ukrainian economy is in a terrible shape because of the great damage done by Putin.

The Ukrainian currency has lost almost half its value against the dollar.

The industrial centres of Donetsk and Luhansk are in separatist hands and coal mines have also shut down. The ceasefire signed in Minsk last September never really took hold but, at least, it provided a cover for efforts to reduce the fighting and focus on stabilising and reforming the Ukrainian economy as a prelude to a long-term search for a resolution to the crisis.

In the meantime, the US and the EU have made it abundantly clear, correctly so, that they are holding Putin responsible for this state of affairs.

It is now of the utmost importance that officials in Kiev, and more specifically President Petro Poroshenko, live up to the big responsibilities they shoulder.

Corruption is to be addressed with immediate effect and eradicated completely. A credible economic and political strategy must also be drawn up to avoid Ukraine’s looming collapse.