The outbreak of war in Europe evidenced the profound imperfections of the current multilateral system, thus questioning the plausibility of interdependency-based structures. In this study, the defeat of Russia is observed as definitive for Ukraine and the international liberal order, as it reaffirms the commitment to the international legal principles institutionalized in the post-war world order. The wave of remilitarization of Western democracies underlines the existential threat posed by alternative forms of governance to democratic values and norms. Thus, the importance of assessing the underlying conflictual potential that thrusted the Russian Federation to militarily invade Ukraine. In order to comprehend the inherent character of conflict in Russo-Ukrainian relations, the armed dissension is analyzed on the basis of historical implications. Accordingly, the articulation of a neorealist approach legitimized the verification of three primary assumptions. Firstly, the Ukrainian crisis signifies a long-standing ethnonationalistic confrontation. Secondly, Russia’s state behavior is partially reasoned according to the Western expansion towards the former Soviet sphere of influence. Thirdly, the internationalization of the conflict significantly potentializes the adoption of zero-sum policies.
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