The Americans support Ukraine, but really have China on their minds.

Conflicts that have been “frozen” for years in Moldova, Georgia and other precarious situations in the Caucasus and Central Asia would also be affected.

For the U.S., this has become a fullscale test of the nation’s credibility after the debacle in Kabul in August 2021 – and in the middle, the growing confrontation with China. As one European diplomat confided, the Americans support Ukraine, but really have China on their minds.

Two powers challenge the West

For the past year, the West has been holding out hope for any sign of distancing between China and Russia, as if waiting for the Messiah. It hasn’t happened yet — meanwhile, Chinese propaganda echoes Russian messaging non-stop.

The world would be different if China had not engaged in this conflict, or even, in a worst-case scenario, opened a second front in Taiwan. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has accused China of preparing to deliver arms to Russia, which Beijing has denied. China now says it will present a peace plan, which has been met with immense skepticism.

The reality of this world is that we have two powers who want to challenge Western dominance. What this war has revealed is that much of the world shares this goal, and the feeling that the West has been abusing its powerful position.

Accepting “might makes right” as the rule in geopolitics would force us to regress to the world of the past, when empires were formed through conquest. This is why Ukraine has become a symbol that cannot fall.

Translated by Emma Albright