Clive Crook, Columnist

Ukraine Reminds Us of What We Already Knew

Putin’s invasion has exploded the West’s ability to delude itself. How long will this moment of clarity last?

February 27, 2022 at 1:00 PM UTC

Clive Crook is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and member of the editorial board covering economics. Previously, he was deputy editor of the Economist and chief Washington commentator for the Financial Times.

Kyiv, Feb. 25, 2022. — Kyiv, Feb. 25, 2022.
Photographer: Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images Europe

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine somehow managed to be shocking despite having been predicted, repeatedly, by President Joe Biden and members of his administration. Even the people making the predictions didn’t seem to believe them. Now that it’s happened and the implications are sinking in, the gap between the reality of the world and America’s perception of it looks vast.

It’s almost enough to make one wonder if a bitterly divided America has been fighting about the wrong questions.