km. In a recent article1, Gert Ewen Ungar has not only examined the all-too-familiar mainstream German narrative as to why Russia must inevitably lose the war against Ukraine and why Germany now believes it is “on the right side of history”. According to this, on 24 February 2022, Russia «brutally invaded Ukraine completely without provocation and in breach of international law’, is pursuing “imperialist aims through its war of aggression” and intends to «annex Ukraine and subsequently invade NATO countries». Russia must therefore “be stopped”. This can be achieved “by arming Ukraine, which must prevail over Russia”. “Solidarity in the form of funding and arms supplies to Ukraine” is already dictated by “Germany’s commitment to justice and its moral convictions”.
Ungar, however, argues: “There are at least two problems with this account. The first is that the account is heavily abridged, misrepresents the build-up to the war and thus prevents Germany from playing a part in resolving the conflict, because its causes are not adequately addressed.” But what is even more important is this: “Outside the German and Western European bubble, who actually follows the Western narrative on the war in Ukraine and supports the aim of Russia losing this war? The answer to this question is simple: no one. No country outside the collective West has any interest in Russia losing this war. To put it more accurately: no country outside Western Europe has any interest in the West winning this war. This problem has not even been acknowledged in Germany”.
The war in Ukraine is, in fact, a “symptom of a changing geopolitical order”. The West is losing its power and is no longer in a position to “dictate its terms”. The conflict in Ukraine is a manifestation of this. The fact that Western Europeans “want to station their troops in Ukraine and admit the country into NATO” shows “even after more than four years of war, they still have not understood the new balance of power and are not prepared to adapt to it”. It is the Ukrainians, above all, who are paying the high price for this.
According to Ungar, the new order is replacing “the rules-based order, which is perceived as unjust by the majority of the world’s states”. He argues that «in Germany, there is a complete lack of proper reflection» on this fact and its implications for the conflict in Ukraine. From the perspective of the “majority of the world”, Russia must not lose the war in Ukraine, “as that would mean that the hated rules-based order – Western hegemony – would remain entrenched for decades to come”.
If Russia were to lose the war in Ukraine, “a significant centre of power within the multipolar order would be weakened before this new order could exert its stabilising influence”. This would be “not in the interests of the vast majority of the world’s states”.
The shift towards a multipolar world order cannot be reversed. “The hope associated with it and the promise it holds are enormous. The rules-based order is to be replaced by the democratisation of international relations. This means that sovereign states, on the basis of the United Nations Charter, settle their affairs amongst themselves through diplomatic channels. The colonial and imperialist Western world order would thus come to an end. Many countries would see this as a liberating breakthrough.”
“No one outside the sphere of influence of Western propaganda” believes the narrative “of an innocent Ukraine, striving for democracy and Western freedom, which has been invaded by an anti-democratic Russia and is being prevented from developing”. Quite the opposite is true. “Outside the West, it is clear that the war in Ukraine is a manifestation of the West’s desire to cling to its hegemony and continue to dictate terms. Yet sovereign states have no place in the Western order.”
Finally: “Germany’s position on the Ukraine conflict – its refusal to engage in diplomacy, coupled with its insistence that Russia must bow to Western and German demands – is therefore extremely short-sighted. Ultimately, this is detrimental not only to Ukraine, but above all to Germany. German policymakers are clinging to a system that is in decline and are thus missing the opportunity to help shape the one that is on the rise.” •
1https://de.rt.com/meinung/288263-welche-staaten-und-regionen-wollen/ of 10 August 2026
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