We all knew Alexei Navalny

was a dead man. His actual death came as no surprise at all. If anything the only thing which surprised me was how long Putin took to have it happen.

I know there are people out there who will still say, "Even Putin wouldn't..." They still don't want to believe that all those falls from high windows are not suicide. They never want to believe that some people, of lesser notoriety, are not put to death by aircraft.

Yesterday someone I know phoned me. It didn't sound like her and it took me a moment to realise who it was. She sounded odd because she was crying, crying over the death of Navalny. It was an extreme reaction but she is a fragile person who spends far too much of her time dwelling on negative things. I let her talk for a while because I was concerned for her but I could not help thinking she was naive not to realise this was going to happen. It was inevitable.

Middle Cat's BIL felt quite differently. His politics, unlike those of his brother, are best described as far left. I never discuss politics with him. His brother does not discuss politics with him. His reaction was to say that this is what you have to expect if you challenge Putin. None of that surprises me.

What disturbs me however is that the rest of the world will do little, if anything, apart from express their "concern". All that will do is further convince Putin he has done the right thing in removing Navalny. His opposition no longer has a strong leader. He can put out the spot fires easily enough.

It is why however that, despite the cost, the west needs to support Ukraine. Putin will not stop at Ukraine. He will want to move on from there to former countries of the old USSR. He wants to be known as the person who brings it all back together into what he sees as a glorious future based on a glorious past. The map matters more to him than the men and women fighting for it.

Navalny knew what was going to happen to him. Zelensky also knows that the support he relies on is fragile. The rest of us need to hope that Navalny's death has strengthened that support.