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Worsening relations with the West
Russia’s relations with the West were deteriorating well before its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 but the fractures have deepened since. As a result of the war, international sanctions on Russia have multiplied and more entrenched and divided global alliances have emerged, pitting NATO countries against Russia and its allies, such as North Korea, Iran and China.
Moscow claims that the West wants to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Moscow, but Ukraine’s allies reject that claim, saying they are helping Kyiv to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked aggression and territory grab that has left at least 30,000 Ukrainian civilians dead or injured (the figure is likely a conservative one) and created more than six million refugees, according to U.N. data.
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