Part 8/13:
Russia’s Civilizational Defense and US Strategy
Central to this narrative is Russia’s perception of its military operation in Ukraine as a civilizational effort—a defensive move against NATO’s eastward expansion. Vladimir Putin consistently articulates that Russia’s actions are about protecting its civilizational sphere rather than recreating the Soviet Union. Russia sees itself as defending its cultural, historical, and geopolitical integrity against what it perceives as Western encroachment.