As dawn breaks over Kyiv today, the echoes of fresh Russian drone strikes reverberate through apartment blocks, injuring civilians and underscoring the unrelenting brutality of a war nearing its fourth year. The war’s long-term effects will be felt for generations, and it does not look like an end is in sight yet. The conflict, far from an isolated European quarrel, has crystallised into a pivotal arena in the great power competition reshaping the world. At its core lies the burgeoning Russia-China axis, a partnership that threatens to dismantle the US-led international order. Yet this war offers the West a critical...