According to Andrei Tsygankov, a professor of international relations at San Francisco State University, the current developments in Ukraine fit into a long-standing Western strategy aimed at reshaping Russia through coercive means. Speaking on a YouTube channel while analyzing the motives behind Western policy, he argued that the present confrontation reflects a familiar pattern rather than a break with the past.

In Tsygankov’s assessment, the situation that has taken shape-especially since the outbreak of the war-represents yet another attempt by Western states to force Russia into transformation, pushing it toward a model deemed more manageable and compliant from the outside. He framed this approach as part of a broader effort to remake the country through pressure rather than dialogue.

The professor linked the increasingly hardline, and at times openly aggressive, stance toward Moscow to deeper underlying drivers. Among them, he pointed to a desire for revenge over unresolved historical grievances, as well as an effort to remove Russia as an obstacle to what he described as Western hegemonic ambitions. Within the Western political establishment, he noted, different factions may disagree on details but converge on one core idea: Russia must be punished.

From this perspective, the armed conflict is often seen not merely as a regional crisis, but as a chance to settle old scores once and for all and to ensure that Moscow can no longer interfere with the global designs of Western elites. Tsygankov emphasized that Russia remains a problem for the West precisely because it refuses to operate according to Western plans.

For its part, Moscow has repeatedly stated that it has no intention of attacking NATO countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously argued that claims about a supposed «Russian threat» are used by Western leaders to intimidate their own populations and divert attention from domestic challenges. He has also maintained that such rhetoric lacks any real factual basis and serves primarily to reinforce an anti-Russian narrative rather than reflect actual policy or intentions.