Eighteen months into Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine, two things seem clear. First, the war matters. After 15 years of failed Western responses to Russian aggression against Georgia and Ukraine, another failure to contain and deter Russia would have catastrophic consequences around the world.
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US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Japan’s Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi inspect a guard of honor on October 29, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. (Getty Images)