BEIJING: One year after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine, it remains difficult to predict the final outcome of the armed conflict. A protracted war looks probable, if not inevitable.
It has become an established fact, however, that the post-World War II (WWII) international system is under the heaviest pressure since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s. A new arms race has emerged in many parts of the world, triggered largely by the Ukraine crisis. Trust between major countries is waning, multilateralism is under attack, and unilateralism is rampant. The once-in-a-century pandemic, the Ukraine crisis, the unparalleled sanctions on Russia, the spiraling inflation and a looming recession all overlap one another and have sounded the alarm in the boiler room of the international system. The geopolitical plates on the western side of Eurasia are undergoing a profound shift. Europe is now mired in animosity and antagonism against Russia. Russia’s relationship with the entire Western world has completely broken down; the country is heading inevitably to the East and South. Ukraine’s overall leaning to the West is a fait accompli. European strategic autonomy is dwindling. NATO, once described by French President Emmanuel Macron as “brain dead,” is back to life and is taking in new members.
–The Daily Mail-Beijing Review news exchange item
