Russian interference and military expansion into its neighbours’ territories remains a serious concern all across Europe. The chaotic foreign policy of the European Union has failed to muster any effective resistance, and just because the Russians have not advanced much in recent months, it does not mean that they have returned to their borders.

The legacy of Russian takeovers in South Ossetia and Abkhazia have combined with the invasion of Crimea and the ongoing war being prosecuted by pro-Russian militias in east Ukraine, to build a thoroughly alarming picture for any of Russia’s neighbours.

Two years after the second round of Minsk Accords were supposed to bring some peace to east Ukraine, it is disturbing that the fighting is continuing with little respite.

It is a shock to realise that 5,000 people have been killed in this brutal but unpublicised war in which pro-Russian separatists are seeking to destabilise the legitimate government of Ukraine, and gain more control over the country’s eastern provinces which have a majority Russian population.

Therefore is it encouraging that the European Union’s foreign ministers plan this week to ask Moscow to rein in the militias after a recent escalation in fighting that has killed at least 19 people and left thousands without heat, power or water in the depths of winter.

It is important that the Russians acknowledge that they can order the militias to stop fighting, and they need to make a priority of allowing the entry of humanitarian aid to the civilian population.

It is also useful that the new American administration under President Donald Trump did not follow through with his pro-Putin comments, like when he met British Prime Minister Theresa May and told her that he would look at ending sanctions on Russia.

This is why it was important that Trump’s new US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, told the Security Council that the United States continued to condemn the Russian occupation of Crimea and said that American sanctions would remain in place until Russia returns control of the peninsula to Ukraine.

Given the uncertainty over Trump’s many policies, this was welcomed by the Europeans trying to make a difference on the ground, even if it irritated the Russians who commented that Trump’s policy seemed to be scripted by the previous Obama administration.

We have to hope that the president does not change his mind and overrule his ambassador to the UN.