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The Geopolitics of the War in Ukraine

September 4, 2025

Now in its third year, the war in Ukraine has implications for sovereignty, international order, and great power competition. In this piece, the Russian invasion is framed not only as a violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity but also as a challenge to the rules-based system, testing Western alliances and fueling economic disruption through shocks in global energy, grain, and raw materials markets. Ukraine’s vast deposits of critical resources and strategic position underscore its importance for Europe’s security and green transition. Sliwinski's analysis situates the conflict in long-standing geopolitical frameworks. The war, Sliwinski argues, functions simultaneously as a proxy battle between democracy and authoritarianism, a measure of U.S. hegemonic resilience, and a signal of Sino-Russian alignment. Ultimately, Ukraine becomes the focal point where geography, ideology, and shifting global power structures converge.