It has become increasingly evident that the West is coming to terms with the difficulty of securing a decisive victory over Russia in the ongoing war in Ukraine, as Moscow has exhibited a notable degree of resilience despite the sweeping economic campaign waged against it.
While Western sanctions have undoubtedly inflicted damage on the Russian economy, they have fallen short of their intended purpose—crippling Russia or compelling it to capitulate. On the contrary, Russia has managed to offset many of these losses by forging new economic ties with rising powers such as China, India, and a host of nations across the Global South.
Europe, in turn, has borne a considerable cost for this economic confrontation, grappling with an energy crisis that has fueled inflation and hindered industrial output, even as the United States has reaped benefits by exporting alternative energy and solidifying its geopolitical influence.
From a monetary standpoint, the sanctions have temporarily bolstered the dollar’s dominance, but they have also accelerated global efforts to seek alternatives to the dollar-based payment system—posing a long-term challenge to American financial supremacy.
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Meanwhile, the Western media campaign seeks to obscure these developments. The prevailing narrative insists on depicting the Russian economy as heading toward isolation and collapse, in an effort to mask the failure of sanctions to meet their strategic goals, dissuade other nations from adopting a similar stance of defiance toward Western pressure, and sustain the illusion of uncontested Western dominance.
Yet the reality on the ground tells a different story. Rather than retreating into isolation, Russia has successfully reoriented its economic relationships, signaling the rise of a more diversified and pluralistic global economic order.
The West’s approach has oscillated between inflexibility and pragmatism, as it strives to avoid projecting a unified but ineffectual front in the face of Russian resilience—occasionally revealing rhetorical inconsistencies that stop short of a full-blown strategic rift.
Washington and its European allies have employed a dynamic strategy that shifts in response to developments on the battlefield. When Russia advances, internal European fractures come to the fore, with some capitals—such as Berlin and Paris—gravitating toward negotiation. Conversely, during periods of Russian setbacks, Western pressure becomes more coordinated and assertive, seizing the opportunity to press for advantage.
Nonetheless, American leadership continues to steer the overall course, while European stances diverge based on distinct national interests.
The trajectory increasingly points toward a reconfiguration of the international order. Recent events suggest that Western policymakers are beginning to acknowledge the constraints of their current approach to Russia, opening the door to potential political compromises, a reshaping of global economic relationships, and a slow decline of the unipolar financial architecture long dominated by the West.
The situation has transcended the binary of “victory or defeat” and has evolved into a deeper contest of resolve—one that is actively redefining the contours of global power. Russia, far from being a spent force, has demonstrated a capacity to adapt and endure, while the West stands at a crossroads: Persist in pursuing strategies that have yet to yield success, or come to terms with the reality of a multipolar world taking shape before our eyes.
Osama Yamani (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)