Western media has long portrayed the ideological conflict between Russia and the United States as a maniacal despot pitted against the defender of global democratic order. The analysis may appear final and conclusive to the average person. On one side, the Western world sees a larger, more powerful nation aiding a smaller, weaker one from its "imperialist" neighbor. On the other side, there is a former KGB secret agent with an arrest warrant for war crimes from the International Criminal Court. 

Can this analysis withstand even the slightest investigation? Not at all. To begin with, the International Criminal Court is a Western-dominated "international" institution. Besides Putin’s case, every other warrant issued by the ICC is for someone in Africa, the Middle East, or Southeast Asia. This is also the same organization that issued an arrest warrant for Muammar Gaddafi, justifying NATO’s overthrow of Gaddafi which has thrown Libya into chaos to this day.

The United States has used Putin’s warrant across media platforms as proof of his despotism, but the irony of this is that the United States has not recognized the ICC since 2002. This is not the only situation where the United State’s stance as the peaceful side in this conflict quickly reveals itself to be nothing but a façade.

Who is the True Aggressor?

Since Russia began its Special Military Operation in early 2022, only one side has engaged in acts of terrorism. Russia has remained steadfast in their goals of liberating the territories of eastern Ukraine which have been the targets of Kiev missiles since 2014, while assuring Ukraine remains neutral in its stance between NATO and Russia. Meanwhile, the United States has repeatedly gone against its word as they see themselves accrue failures on the battlefield. 

In May, President Joe Biden permitted Ukraine to conduct “limited strikes” inside Russia with US-provided weapons but restricted it primarily to the border in the Kharkov region. Just a month later, Biden extended his permission for Ukraine to strike “anywhere” in Russia. Just three days after Biden authorized strikes inside Russia, a day of family fun at the beach was disrupted by American-made missiles. Four missiles were fired at Crimea; air defense systems neutralized three, while the fourth was intercepted but deviated from its path, detonating mid-air over a beach in Sevastopol. 151 people were injured and at least four were killed, including two children. The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a post on Telegram that Ukraine carried out the attack using “US-supplied ATACMS operational-tactical missiles equipped with cluster warheads.”

While the Biden administration was mute on the matter, not all Americans outright ignored U.S. missiles being used to strike children playing at the beach. Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene commented on the attack, expressing that it was unacceptable and “should not be happening.” She also questioned what Americans would think if “Russia, using a Russian satellite, fired cluster munitions on a Florida beach.”

Anti-Russia sentiment is at an all-time high, even without Russia conducting any attacks near American borders. So far, the most hostile act Russia has carried out against the United States since the Ukraine conflict began was sending a small fleet of warships to Cuba. But don't expect Russia to return fire on an American beach, as Russia prefers to retaliate in ways the United States and its supporters cannot comprehend.

Russia Arms Themselves Through Cooperation

While the United States plans its next terror attack on unsuspecting civilians, Russia is focused on building a multipolar world, where cooperation is going to be more valuable than warfare. The past two months have seen Putin busily solidifying Russia’s friendship with different Asian nations, including Vietnam. In May, Putin conducted a two-day trip to China where he met with Xi Jinping and students of a Chinese university. 

The following month, Putin visited the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for the first time in twenty-four years. This visit culminated in Russia and the DPRK signing a military agreement that obligates each side to provide immediate military assistance to the other in the event of armed aggression against either nation. Reports emerged following the agreement that the DPRK was preparing to send engineers to Russia to help rebuild areas in the Donbas region that have been destroyed from warfare.

Following his DPRK visit, Putin went straight to Hanoi to sign more agreements with Vietnam. Putin and Vietnamese President To Lam agreed to enhance cooperation in education, science and technology, oil and gas exploration, and clean energy. They also decided to develop a roadmap for establishing a nuclear science and technology center in Vietnam. Among the 12 publicly announced agreements, none explicitly related to defense, but Lam mentioned there were additional undisclosed deals.

The United States Fears Diplomacy

Putin’s summer tour of Asia is not going unnoticed by the West. An anonymous security official from the United States voiced concern over Russia’s "diplomatic capability.“ The speed and depth of the expanding security ties involving US adversaries appears to have taken even American intelligence analysts by surprise. Russia and the other nations have "set aside historic frictions to collectively counter what they regard as a US-dominated global system,” the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. 

It is difficult to comprehend the end goal of the United States of its sponsored acts of terrorism through Ukrainian and other proxies. Does the US truly believe they could force Russia to capitulate and withdraw from the Donbas and other liberated areas, leaving Ukraine to the Nazis and warmongers? While the U.S. continues to spread terror across the world, it may be surprised to find itself embroiled in an even greater conflict, this time without the "allies" it thought it could count on.