Posted originally on Feb 20, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |  

If we are honest, the current international world order is crumbling and it has demonstrated its inability to effectively resolve crises when financial gain is at stake. The EU is desperate to become relevant again as a world power being overshadowed by Russia, China, and the USA. This is leading to some starting to rethink strategic balances and rapid evolution in geo-economic relations.  How wars are going to be fought is also changing before our eyes. Traditional threats are becoming increasingly hybrid in nature, and this is causing tremendous uncertainty among intelligence agencies. The Biden Administration assumed that Ukraine could easily defeat Russia and US would quickly establish bases there. That policy failed. Their  sanctioning Russia removing it from SWIFT, was a monumental mistake that has divided the world economy creating BRICS.

The war between Russia and Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse between Western military support and Russia’s strategy of industrial exhaustion. The US won World War II because we had the manufacturing base to turn out weapons including planes and tanks. Today, Russia is able to replenish assets and China’s manufacturing base is in the position that the US was during World War II. China could replenish lost ships, planes, and tanks faster than the USA or Europe for that matter.

The EU and NATO have called the shots and have refused to allow Ukraine to seek peace every time. According to our sources, despite signing the Minsk Agreement that was to allow the Donbas to vote, the West has negotiated that in bad faith and instructed Zelensky not to make any territorial concessions. The nature of the war is rapidly evolving towards nuclear confrontation and the increasing use of autonomous weapon systems. NATO and the EU do not care about Ukraine or its people. This has always been about the conquest of Russia itself. Even assuming the claims that Russia is weak are true and NATO can walz in with no casualties, then it is time to push the button.

Meanwhile, The New York Times writes Vladimir Putin remains confident of his superiority on the front lines. The claims are that he is banking on a protracted war and is prepared to continue fighting for at least another two years to establish complete control over the entire territory of the Donbas region. There is NO WAY Putin can back down. If he did, he would be overthrown in a coup and then you will get a Russian Neocons who will be just as eager to push the button to wipe out NATO.