Trump has smashed the Western alliance. Here’s what could happen next
With his broadsides against Ukraine, Trump has turned the world order on its head, leaving Europe reeling. Why is he doing it, and how can US allies respond?
It’s hard to see how the US-Russia deal won’t hand Ukraine to Putin on a platter. David Rowe
One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s predecessors, Vladimir Lenin, is supposed to have coined the aphorism that “there are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen”.
It may be apocryphal. But even if Lenin didn’t say it, Putin must surely be thinking it now. In the course of just a few days, the system that has governed international affairs since World War II has been stood on its head. And in Europe, heads are spinning and minds are reeling.
Hans van LeeuwenEurope correspondentHans van Leeuwen covers British and European politics, economics and business from London. He has worked as a reporter, editor and policy adviser in Sydney, Canberra, Hanoi and London. Connect with Hans on Twitter. Email Hans at hans.vanleeuwen@afr.com
