It spent years stoking a conflict with Russia it had no intention of fighting.
Some seem to believe that the war in Ukraine has galvanised Western alliances. In particular, they argue that Russia’s act of aggression has given that hoary old Cold War institution, NATO, a renewed sense of purpose, reversing decades of drift and division. As US president Joe Biden declared after last week’s NATO summit, ‘Putin was banking on NATO being split – NATO has never, never been more united than it is today’.
That was certainly the impression NATO leaders wanted to give (footage of Boris Johnson looking lost and alone aside). Unity. Commitment. Purpose. NATO leaders talked of imposing ‘unprecedented costs on Russia’. They pledged to pour more weapons – and upgraded ones to boot – into Ukraine. And Biden himself seemed to be on a one-man escalation mission, threatening both regime change in Moscow and to respond ‘in kind’ to any Russian chemical-weapon use.
