World War III: Phantom Threat
From the point of view of political statements and specific actions in the field of defence policy, there is no point in telling that Ukraine will receive less weapons due to the destabilization of the situation in the Middle East. The situation is not as simple as it seems to many experts or the media. We must understand that the coalition of terrorist states, which includes Russia, Iran, Belarus, North Korea, and Syria, which are coordinated and economically supported by the People's Republic of China, destabilizes the entire world order by using various sore points and conflicts that have been frozen for some time. However, even in wars without such scale as in the current one, this coalition challenged the collective West.
Therefore, we should understand that no one would exchange anything in the West. They will support Ukraine, Israel, and South Korea to the fullest, if necessary. After all, the issue is not simply in these three states, but in the fact that there is a great desire of terrorist countries to rebuild the world order, drag the world into a legal mess, make international law and international organizations dysfunctional and, using the confusion, start bargaining with the collective West.
The World Continues to Support Ukraine
NATO became the first institution, the leader of which clearly stated that the war in Israel would not affect the amount of support for Ukraine. In particular, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated in an interview to DW that the Alliance has not weakened its determination to continue supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression against the background of the escalation of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
"NATO allies strongly expressed that yes, we are concerned and, of course, we are shocked by the brutality of the terrorist attack against Israel over the weekend. But that will not undermine our ability, our willingness, and our resolve to continue to support Ukraine," he emphasized.
US President Joe Biden spoke even more radically. In his interview to CBS, in response to a journalist's question whether the simultaneous support of Ukraine in the war with Russia and Israel in the conflict with Hamas is causing too much of a burden on the United States, and whether the United States is able to support Ukraine, Israel and its own defence simultaneously, he noted: " We're the United States of America for God's sake, the most powerful nation in the history — not in the world, in the history of the world. We can take care of both of these and still maintain our overall international defence.” And in his address to the American people from the Oval Office, President Biden emphasized that Hamas and Putin are similar in their criminal desire to destroy neighboring democracies. "History has taught us that when terrorists do not pay the price for their terror and dictators for their aggression, they cause even more chaos and deaths. They continue their actions, and the costs and threats to the US and the world only increase. So, if we do not curb Putin's appetite for power and control in Ukraine, he won't stop at just Ukraine", the US President emphasized.
For their part, representatives of the US State Department emphasize that the policy of simultaneous support for Israel and Ukraine is a priority for the United States. For example, in a telephone conversation with the head of the Foreign Affairs Minister of Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted that the US will continue to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to protect its people.
US Defence Minister Lloyd Austin, while on a visit to Israel, repeated President Biden's thesis almost verbatim. "The United States remains the most powerful country in the world and we remain fully able to project power and uphold our commitments and direct resources to multiple theatres. So we will stand with Israel even as we stand with Ukraine," he said.
Similarly, commenting on the economic capacity of the United States to provide sufficient support to both countries, both US National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan are unanimous: The United States has sufficient resources to simultaneously support Ukraine against Russian aggression and Israel in defence of their territory and citizens.
We should also pay attention to the fact that, in addition to the statements of politicians, the strengthening of cooperation with big business in the defence sector, in particular in the production of weapons, also confirms the steady support of Ukraine by the West. Let me remind you that at the end of August this year, British BAE Systems announced that it had signed two cooperation agreements with the Ukrainian government. In September this year, major German weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall announced the creation of a joint venture with Ukrainian state concern Ukroboronprom for the production of armoured vehicles and tanks in Ukraine. A number of French defence contractors, with the assistance of French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu, concluded agreements with Ukraine on the joint production of artillery, armoured vehicles, drones and aid in demining. For example, Turgis & Gaillard signed an agreement with Ukrainian Antonov on the joint production of a reduced and cheaper version of Aarok MALE drone.
What can be a better evidence of continued support for Ukraine than the signing of contracts for the production of weapons between major Western industrial companies and Ukrainian defence industry enterprises?
The Sole Instrument for Compelling Peace
I cannot say that global players are starting the World War III, but it is already obvious that the struggle for the global redistribution of world influence on politics, defence, security and finance has begun. In addition to that, while ten years ago, economic levers were used, currently military methods are utilized. As Clausewitz said, war is simply the continuation of politics with the involvement of other means. This is our reality.
This is not a war against Israel or against Ukraine. This is a war for the reorganization of power in the world, for the redistribution of the global world order and a challenge to the West, because Israel and Ukraine are partners of the West. Ukraine is important because it provides security of the Euro-Atlantic region. Israel is important because it is an ally of the United States and the West.
This war has nothing to do with ideology or religion. This is a struggle for power, for control over resources and for influence on the world stage. Russia, as a country with significant resources and great influence, is trying to maintain its position and expand them thanks to an aggressive foreign policy.
Ukraine and Israel became victims of this war because of their partnership with the West. Russia is trying to destroy these partners in order to reduce the influence of the West on world politics and increase its own influence.
Therefore, this war has global nature and can have serious consequences for the whole world. Therefore, the civilized world needs to continue to support Ukraine and Israel in their struggle for their independence and security, and to make efforts to reduce Russia's influence on world politics.
No peace appeals or diplomatic efforts will work when terrorists or a terrorist state constitute a party to the conflict, so the military and economic support for Ukraine and Israel by the West is the only tool that guarantees peace enforcement.