Amongst the misery and destruction of war in Ukraine, global forces and organizations are pointing fingers at who the true “bad guy” is and what broader geopolitical implications have culminated to this point of horrific conflict. Russian President Putin continuously slammed the West, in particular the U.S., for its “dictatorship” over global affairs and its willingness to sacrifice European living standards through sanctions that advance its own goals. Meanwhile, American President Biden has called Putin a “war criminal” but fell short of using the words “state sponsor of terrorism,” as requested by Ukraine.

Currently, according to the United Nations, 13,917 civilian casualties have been recorded and millions have been displaced from when the invasion started until September 2022. Russia currently occupies land in eastern and southern patches, but Ukraine has also recently launched counteroffensives to reclaim lost territory.

America’s European allies have shown opposition to Russia through economic sanctions that Putin claims have left Europe worse off — apparently a sign of America’s dictatorship over the region. “The high level of industrial development in Europe, the standard of living, social and economic stability — all of this is being thrown onto the fire of sanctions,” he said. Putin also further claims that the European nations are being ordered around by Washington in the name of Euro-Atlantic unity, when “in reality, they are basically being sacrificed in the name of preserving the U.S. dictatorship in global affairs.” The EU has been busy phasing out reliance on Russian natural gas amongst inflation, while Russia has been negotiating deals to sell its gas elsewhere, notably to China with both of the countries’ currencies. Though Russia may seem unfazed, Sergei Guriev, professor of economy at Sciences Po (the Paris Institute of Political Studies) and former chief economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, according to CNBC, insists that the country is struggling and its GDP is shrinking. Guriev further claims that Putin was trying to “blackmail” and divide European countries through its gas plays earlier in the summer.

Meanwhile, the Russian President insisted that the West has been trying to maintain a global order of dominance that only benefitted them and thus refusing to recognize the “irreversible tectonic shifts” in international relations that have drawn significant amounts of capital, human capital, and production capacities. Though the conflict between the U.S., Russia, and respective allies has for the most part been contained to sanctions and remarks as covered in this article, the war in Ukraine has revealed the very real consequences and loss of innocent lives due to unresolved international conflict and East-West tensions. The accusations that were thrown by global leaders in light of the war highlight the many perspectives of the global order today, and the need to reach a point of status quo, if not agreement, to ensure that destruction and war can be minimized.