The US was never directly involved in the Russian – Ukrainian war which began over a year ago. However, the US has made several gains that have made it one of the key backers of the war. The US has managed to reap financial profits worth billions due to its sale of gas and arms to European nations. The US was able to exploit this conflict as a justification to increasing the budget of the US Department of Defense, as well as distracting the US public from domestic issues. The US also found justification for the high levels of inflation. Globally the US was able to deplete the economic and military capabilities of Russia. On the other hand, the US has incurred economic and military costs, a negative European perception of the US military that lead to a conviction over strengthening European defense capabilities to reduce their reliance on the US military. The US has also failed to mobilize the global community as many nations have followed a policy of non-alignment, refusing to implement the wishes of the US.

A year on since the start of the war, the repercussions have not been limited to the two parties in the conflict (Russia and Ukraine), there are external parties that have made gains but have also incurred some losses. The US managed to achieve economic gains due to US arms sales and gas to Europe, the depletion of Russian. However, they have had to bear economic burdens such as the aid to Ukraine and the Europeans strengthening themselves militarily to avoid over reliance on the US. 

US Gains from the War

The US has made several gains because of the war, most notably are the following: 

1. High arms and gas sales for US Firms: The US is accused of wanting to prolong the Russian-Ukrainian war due to the huge profits it has reaped. These profits have come from the sales of US arms companies to Ukraine and European allies as they are forced to buy larger quantities of US weapons as their own stocks are being rapidly depleted. In addition to US gas, which is sold at high prices to European countries after Russia stopped exporting gas to Europe, where it is four times the cost in Europe then in the US. It is expected that European countries will continue to obtain most of their needs of liquefied natural gas from the US during 2023. According to the US Energy Information Administration, the US has reaped gains of $ 35 billion in September 2022 from selling natural gas to Europe, compared to $ 8.3 billion in September 2021.
   
2. Bleeding Russia dry: Russia’s continued engagement in the war has contributed to the depletion of its military and economic powers. As the war drains Russian resources, this has had a positive effect on the US, especially as this limits Russian capabilities and depletes them, thus reducing Russia’s competition with the US. Some Western politicians note that Russia has about 200,000 casualties since the start of the war including economic and geopolitical losses if Ukraine wins the war. The war has broken the stereotype about Russian military superiority over Ukraine. Moscow has not yet been able to win the war, and some Ukrainian cities that were occupied by Russian forces were liberated.
   
3. Increasing US power: The war has negatively affected the strength of the euro whilst increasing global confidence in the US dollar, which managed to maintain its strength throughout the war. The value of the dollar in October 2022 amounted to about 1.05 euros as opposed to 0.94 euros in the last week of December 2022. This is the same value as at the beginning of the year and has given investors greater confidence in the strength of the US economy and its ability to face global shocks.
   
4. The realization of the importance of European allies: The war helped confirm to the US political circles that they should never abandon Europe, and that the member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) must continue to view Russia as a direct and explicit threat to the Alliance. This has led to countries abandon their neutrality, such as Finland and Sweden, whom both have sought to join NATO to deter Russian threats. Military and moral support the EU and the US to Ukraine has refuted the possibility at the beginning of the war that Ukraine would not be able to stand for a long in the face of Russia. The belief was that it would quickly fall to Russia, yet Ukraine’s continued resistance thus far, has made the whole world question Russia’s military prowess.
   
5. Justification for increasing the Pentagon’s budget: The war has given the US administration justification for increasing the budget of the Pentagon, as the continued existence of adversaries such as Russia and China threaten the national security of the US and its allies. This has made it necessary to strengthen the capabilities of the US Armed Forces and to modernize and develop new weapons to make the US more capable in confronting threats that have started to increase as of late. US politicians believe that China and Russia will surpass the United States in nuclear capabilities if the US does not continue to develop its own nuclear capabilities.
   
6. Distracting public opinion from domestic Issues: The US administration is taking advantage of the Russian-Ukrainian war to distract the American people from the US’s own internal problems that the current US administration has failed to tackle thus far. Most importantly, reducing US inflation levels, armed crime, and illegal immigration on the southern US border with Mexico. As members of the US administration increasingly focus on the external risks surrounding the US, Russia, and China in particular, they are now beginning to talk about the coming moves for the US. The external threats were one of the main factors that led to higher US inflation levels,  now the US must intervene to control the outcome of the war. At the same time, the US is also working to address its domestic problems, to gain sympathy with the American people and maintain support for the administration of Joe Biden.

Challenges Arising from the Russian – Ukrainian War

The US has faced several challenges post the Russian invasion of Ukraine:

1. A European realization to US dependency: The war has convinced many in Europe that it is time to stop the war in Ukraine as it is putting Europe in an extremely difficult position and Europe has suffered greatly as a result. The chorus is growing louder that Europe must not rely on the US for its defense any longer and that they should be dependent on their own military capabilities in the future to defend against any external threats. There is a growing criticism of the US laws passed in congress that benefit the US without taking into consideration its European allies interests, such as the inflation law as was illustrated by Josep Borel the EU Foreign Policy Representative. There is also talk about the inflation levels in Europe that have surpassed those in the US, in November 2022 Holland had 14.3% inflation, Germany had 11.6% and the UK hit 11.1% inflation. In comparison US inflation rates there was only 7.7%.
2. Failing to attract more allies: The US has failed to mobilize more allies on the side of the West as most states have refused to take up the western stance against Russia and many have decided to remain neutral. Many Middle Eastern countries, especially oil producers have refused to increase their production levels as per the US’s request. The US has not been able to divide the world into 2 camps, one that supports democracy and the other that supports dictatorships like Russia and China.
   
3. Increasing the economic Bburdens on the US: Many US politicians assert that the continuation of this war increases the economic burdens on the US, as they are forced to provide military and financial aid to Ukraine.  The US Congress has entered a state of heated disagreement between both political parties as the Republicans refuse to increase the budget whilst the Democrats see an urgent need to do so, which has complicated debate on the US budger within congress. This has created a quagmire issue for the Biden administration, which may be unable to pay its debts if a solution or agreement is not reached by next June. In addition, the continuation of the war will prompt the US to continue raising interest rates to curb inflation, which contributes to the rise in food and energy prices, likely increasing the possibility of an economic recession. Added to this is the sanctions against some Russian companies working with US companies that will cause losses for these corporations.
   

The Biden administration confirms that that war has incurred a large economic debt because of the military and financial aid it provided to Kiev, exceeding 20 billion US dollars. In addition to that the war caused the depletion of the strategic stockpile of US ammunition and weapons, because of the continued withdrawal and provision of military aid to Ukraine. The US has also been unable to profit of increased gas prices in Europe. 

4. Lacking the capability to end the conflict: The US intelligence community sees that there is a great difficulty in ending the war in favor of any party. Unfortunately, the conflict could go on to become a war of attrition as Ukraine holds on to the notion of liberating its lands occupied by Russia and Russia opposes this. With the continued support of external parties to both Russia and Ukraine, including the sales of arms, the war could be prolonged indefinitely.

The Groundwork for Negotiations 

The US has incurred losses because of the continuation of the Russian-Ukrainian war, however, the gains were greater, this further supports the European accusations against the US that pushing for the continuation of that war is in the interest of the US at the expense of the Europeans. This may push some EU countries to try and negotiate with Russia to stop that war due to the increased economic burdens to allow the return of Russian energy to European lands.  This will at the time constitute a major challenge for the US as they will have to acquiesce to the matter and change its position to not lose its European allies.