The bloodied faces of children in Aleppo let down by the failure of the ceasefire in Syria this week are tough but necessary viewing.

It is a time for cool heads, but the genocidal behaviour of Russia, Iran and Assad, with no consideration for the value of human life evidenced by medieval siege tactics and deliberate targeting of healthcare and vital services, cannot now be denied.

The House of Commons voted last December for careful, precision targeting by our forces of Islamist terrorists and their supply in Syria. I am pleased to say having been briefed in detail that these operations have taken place as intended, and made a real difference on the ground in protecting communities from being taken over by homicidal nihilists.

One of the other hopes for our engagement was that it would allow us to participate credibly in diplomatic efforts to end the violence in Syria, and replace it with a ceasefire, political transition, rebuilding and a return to normality.

The pictures from the renewed Russian-backed offensive this week are a poignant sign that this has not yet worked. And sadly they are not going to make Islamist radicalisation less likely.

But it feels like something else changed this week. Those who had begun to think Russia could be trusted must surely be reconsidering.

I think it has been a major mistake to allow Russia and its client states to believe they can act with impunity and outside international law.

Consequences or the credible apprehension of them are an essential part of conditioning behaviour, as any student of international relations will testify.

So while we feel the pain of Aleppo we must steel ourselves for other responses. There must be consequences for Russia, whose membership of the UN Security Council looks more inappropriate by the day.