The intention became clear on November 20-21, 2024. After the Joe Biden Administration in Washington DC refused to comment on the explosive revelations over the weekend that the US recently gave Ukraine permission to use American missiles to strike targets deep inside internationally-recognised Russian territory – an acknowledged act of war – Kiev unleashed a volley of missiles into Russia’s Bryansk Region on November 19 (2024). Incidentally, Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin signed an Executive Order, updating its Nuclear Weapons Doctrine, which includes the qualification that “an aggression against Russia from any non-nuclear state, but involving or supported by any nuclear state as their joint attack”, the same day.

On November 20, Ukraine unleashed another attack inside Russia, this time using British Storm Shadow missiles, despite London’s repeated claim that it had not given permission to do so. Thus, the bizarre game of intentionally ambiguous escalation continues, leaving the onus on nuclear-armed Russia to guess the West’s intentions and to respond in moderation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy let it out of the bag on November 19 night, as he admitted that permissions had been given, and now Ukraine would strike the Russian military “wherever it is“!

Even before the November 20 attacks in Kursk, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov clearly stated: “We will be taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia, and we will react accordingly.“

The Biden Administration – or whoever is calling the shots – has now embarked on a mad and desperate pursuit to embroil the US into war against Russia, thereby making it Trump-proofed against any President who would ever want to reverse it. In the process, they have not only decided that risking the lives and futures of all people on the Earth is a worthy gamble, but have also torn up the constitutional process of a peaceful transfer of power to the incoming President, despite all their statements to the contrary. As the decision about the long-range missiles shows, the US Administration is pulling out all the stops toward this end, and even has lifted the blockade on Ukraine’s use of anti-personnel landmines. It is undeniable that the world now stands on the brink of Thermonuclear War, and must be pulled back through the meticulously careful actions of peace-oriented leaders.

The only thing more consequential than this danger is the absolutely historical transformation unfolding throughout the Global South – and increasingly worldwide. The G20 Summit, hosted by Brazil, ended on November 19 with shrieks and howls from the world’s would-be colonial masters. The German, French and US representatives complained that the final communiqué did not condemn Russia enough, a feat that was conveniently arranged when their leaders were not in the main hall, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made an early release of the document. As Bloomberg noted in its coverage of the summit: “If (the G20 Summit in) Rio showed anything, it is that the West is no longer running the show.“

Following the G20 Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping headed to Brasilia for an official state visit with President Lula, where the two leaders took their countries’ relationship to the next level. They elevated their existing Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to one of a Community of Shared Future for a More Just World and a Sustainable Planet. The two Presidents signed dozens of economic agreements and established a task force that would concretise plans for some of the larger continent-wide projects over the coming two months. Reflecting the polyphonic quality of the collaboration between these two nations, Lula said: “What China and Brazil do together reverberates around the world.” Both leaders discussed their joint six-point peace proposal for Ukraine, implicitly comparing it to the disastrous wars unfolding under the watch of the “rules-based order”, with Lula stressing: “In a world ravaged by armed conflict and geopolitical tensions, China and Brazil put peace, diplomacy and dialogue first.“

The world is shifting under our feet. Taken together with President Xi’s joining with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte in presiding over the November 14 opening of the enormous Chancay Port in Peru, which would finally loosen the neocolonial bonds from Ibero America as a whole, and the US veto on November 20 of another UN Security Council resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza, these developments give an indication of the transformation underway in the world. And that is why some are so desperate to stop it.

Will the US under a new Trump Administration be brought into line with this historical process sweeping the globe? Can the Western nations rediscover their better heritage or will they propel the world into destruction to prevent the rise of the rest? These questions have never been more in focus for all to see, presenting us with a unique organising opportunity for their resolution.

Schiller Institute published this article on November 22, 2024.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das