After weeks of military buildup and lies, Russia has attacked Ukraine.

We are watching a worst-case scenario — a full invasion by land, sea, and cyberspace — play out in real time. With diplomacy dead, Western allies are now turning to sanctions.

The mood was somber at the recent Munich Security Conference, where world leaders were scrambling to avoid exactly this outcome.

But the invasion comes with a big unintended consequence for Vladimir Putin: NATO unity.

Russian aggression in Ukraine has brought NATO allies closer together than they've been since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with journalists to comment on new U.S. sanctions targeting two major Russia's oil producers, as well as other international issues, in Moscow, Russia, October 23, 2025.
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