I
n our anxious and hyperconnected world, people often confuse force with power. Victory seems instinctively linked to the strongest, to those who carry out the most bombings, to those who cause the most destruction. Yet, despite Russia's relentless assault on Ukraine since February 2022 – and the growing number of strikes and the devastation inflicted – it has not succeeded in breaking Ukrainian resistance.
This also overlooks just how much the Kremlin has benefited from the war of annihilation waged by Israel in Gaza since October 2023, using it to intensify its own war against Ukraine. Not only did Moscow exploit the "double standard" displayed by Western capitals regarding Ukraine and Gaza, but Vladimir Putin also, in effect, cooperated with Benjamin Netanyahu to discredit and weaken Joe Biden, thus paving the way for Donald Trump's return to the White House in January 2025.
The European Union (EU) and its various institutions failed to grasp the trap presented by the Trump-Putin-Netanyahu triangle's exaltation of brute force. The leaders of Europe underestimated the serious risk posed by the "transactional" approach favored by this trio – an approach that threatens the very foundations of the rule of law and, by extension, the European project.
