US: "Russia May Launch Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine Tonight"... The 'New Cold War' Approaches Reality

Security Risks in 'Axis of Concern' Including Ukraine, Taiwan, and Korean Peninsula
US Defense Strategy Expected to Shift Focus from China Containment Efforts

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Ukraine crisis has brought the previously theoretical 'New Cold War' framework into immediate reality. Russia and China, emerging as energy and manufacturing powerhouses respectively, are leveraging their economic and military strength to demand a fundamental reorganization of the world order led by the United States since the First Cold War.

As the confrontation between these superpowers comes to the surface, countries located in geopolitical 'pivot areas' where major powers primarily clash?such as Ukraine, Taiwan, and the Korean Peninsula?are expected to face serious security concerns going forward.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 23rd (local time), there is growing debate among the U.S. Department of Defense and experts that the U.S. government needs to revise its existing China-containment and Indo-Pacific-centered defense strategy in light of the Ukraine crisis. With Russia emerging as a core threat to European security, there are calls for a strategy that places at least equal emphasis on Russia and China.

Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Michelle Flournoy warned in an interview with WSJ, "Until now, the U.S. considered Russia as a destabilizing force around Europe's periphery. However, a full-scale invasion of a sovereign nation is an entirely different level," adding, "China will further align with Russia as an authoritarian state opposing the Western democratic camp, and we will see increased cohesion between the two countries going forward."

Despite the 'carpet bombing' of sanctions by the United States, the European Union (EU), and other allies, Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is becoming imminent. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with NBC News on the same day, "Russia could launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine tonight." CNN reported, citing a senior U.S. official, that "approximately two Russian tactical battalion-sized units, about 800 troops, have already entered the Donbas region."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.