In August this year, a closed-door talks in the White House suddenly became a part of the global strategic chart.。
Trump and Zelensky just sat down for less than half an hour and called the Kremlin.Hours later, Putin "generously" agreed to the U.S. troops to enter the southeastern Ukraine in the name of "peace" and the White House announced "a diplomatic breakthrough".
But looking back, this seemingly peaceful deal is actually more like an old-fashioned strategic barrier.
Incredible
On the surface, Putin made a compromise, allowing U.S. troops to enter the southeastern region of Ukraine and participate in “peacekeeping operations.”
The U.S. military is restricted to operating in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, cannot carry heavy weapons or expand its scope. It is said to be peacekeeping, but in fact it has become a captive "spectator". Once the situation becomes tense, these U.S. troops may even become "hostages" under the Russian firepower.
More importantly, the Ukrainian army was forced to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region.
Instead of rushing to annex Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, Putin gained de facto control of Donbass. This area is not only coal mines and steel, but also an energy channel to the Black Sea.
The Russian military advances about 500 meters a day, a little bit "kicking" down the east, at the current pace, in 18 months, more than 90% of Ukraine's heavy industry will fall into the hands of the Russian military.
The Russian military launched a saturated attack of 579 drones at the beginning of September, which cost less than $20,000 a single drone, but forced the Ukrainian army to use every $4 million of air defense missiles.
As a result, the Russian army not only steadfastly stepped up on the battlefield, but also managed to package the word "peacekeeping" into the mantle of strategic legitimacy, limiting both NATO and consolidating control over the eastern region.
Drunk does not mean wine.
If Ukraine is just a corner of the chessboard, then energy and finance are the "roots" that Putin really wants to move.
After the Western sanctions, Russia was not blocked, but instead shifted to the east. Natural gas exports shifted to the east, the annual shipment volume between China and Russia has reached 38 billion cubic meters. India also received 35% of Russian oil exports, and Europe's "broken confession" hit out, resulting in Asia's "recipient man" full of spring winds.
More notable is the development of Arctic resources.
This ice-snowed edge is becoming a new energy brand in Russia’s hands. 13% of the world’s undeveloped oil and 30% of natural gas are in this region.
Meanwhile, Russia has begun to accelerate the pace of “dollarization.” More than 90% of China-Russia trade today is used for settlement in main currency, and the dollar’s share in Russian foreign exchange reserves has dropped to less than 16%.
The sign behind this is clear that Russia is not going to be taken away by the US dollar system anymore.Putin proposed to invest $1.1 trillion in rearmament by 2036, apparently for military escalation, in fact is building a “destrationalized” economic security net.
The Trump administration is investing more in domestic economy and border security, and the foreign strategic shrinkage trend is evident.The Western coalition’s dominance in energy and finance is steadily pushed by Russia as it fights.
This battle, not only in Ukraine, but also at the roots of the world’s energy and financial order.
From military to energy, Putin's calculations do not go missing.But the biggest chess story, in fact, is also hidden in the rewrite of the global pattern.
Real purpose
After Trump came to power, U.S. and European relations visibly warmed. Ukraine's aid declined, and differences began to arise within NATO.The Russian military played conventional battles, while sending fighter jets to test the NATO bottom line, violating Estonia's airspace and flying over Polish oil and gas platforms.
These moves appear to be "accidental", in fact, are kinds of "touch ceramic tests", the purpose is to see if the West dares to act.
In the process, Russia has proposed a seemingly “neutral” proposal to establish a supervisory mechanism by the three sides, with China taking the role of arbitrator.
This structure, not only bypasses NATO and the EU, but also seeds the seeds for future replications of the same pattern in hotspots such as the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East.
Putin’s plan is not only to reshape Russian influence, but also to put himself in the “main table” of key global affairs.
At the same time, the expansion of BRICS countries is quietly being promoted. In 2025, the economic aggregate of BRICS countries has exceeded that of G7. When countries in the global South see that Russia can still live well despite sanctions and isolation, they will naturally reassess the weight of the Western "voice".
And Ukraine has become the “price item” of this global game.In 1994, Ukraine actively abandoned its nuclear weapons in order to join the international system, but today the Western security commitment is almost paperwork.
This is undoubtedly an alarm clock for other small nations, relying on the promises of the great powers rather than on their own bottom lines.Putin tells the world with a war that under the game of the great powers, the fate of the small countries is often not in their own hands.
From the very beginning, Putin's plan for the past four years has not only focused on Ukraine, but linked military, energy, financial and international rules to leverage the Western-led world order step by step. This is not an improvised initiative, let alone a passive response, but a systematic strategic reconstruction.
The West appears to still hold the initiative at the negotiating table, and the reality is continually taken away; Ukraine appears to have received international solidarity, and the reality has been marginalized; and Russia is re-writing the geopolitical scenario of the 21st century in a way of “no greeting.”
This game, the winner is not yet determined, but the losers have begun to appear.
References:
European troops to Ukraine plan details revealed, Putin warns 26 countries: enter the country to fight! 2025-09-06 16:16
The high-interest lobe of Russian economic growth 2025-09-16 18:55 PM Source: Reference news
India's Cutting Consumption Tax Measures Come into Force: Economic Growth Prospects Still Challenges 2025-09-23 00:00 PM Source: China Economic Network