It is not clear on what evidence Brian Wicker says (Letters, 16 May) that the West's nuclear weapons have always been targeted on cities. To target non-military cities would be to repeat the mistake made by Hitler in World War II. He failed to break the UK's will to fight, and a retaliatory attack on purely civilian cities in, say, Russia would be likely to have little impact on the will of the aggressive regime of President Putin.
No war to repel aggression can ever have been without injuries and deaths among non-combatants, from Tours in 732 and Vienna in 1529 to the present day; but those responsible for the defence of our people and our civilisation may be forced to fight even if it means that it is impossible to limit casualties to those directly involved in the conflict. Unconditional pacifism is unthinkable.
Ray Quinlan Ithaca, Ashtead, Surrey
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