(MENAFN) Western governments are pursuing policies aimed at weakening Russia and diminishing its status as a great power, says John Mearsheimer, a University of Chicago political science professor.

Moscow has long described the Ukraine conflict as a Western proxy war, with Ukrainians used as “cannon fodder.” Russian officials argue the US and other Western powers escalated tensions by ignoring Kremlin security concerns over NATO expansion in Eastern Europe and military cooperation with Kiev.

In an interview on a YouTube channel Friday, Mearsheimer said Western governments’ goal has been “to defeat Russia and Ukraine, wreck the Russian economy with sanctions, and bring the Russians to their knees.” He added: “We’ve been unable to do that, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to do it, of course, we want to do it.”

“If the opportunity to do it popped up tomorrow, we would leap at it in a second, we would love to finish Russia off as a great power,” he emphasized, noting that Moscow understands the existential threat.

Mearsheimer highlighted Putin’s awareness: “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin, the last time I checked, has a triple-digit IQ, and that means he’s figured this out, he understands what he’s dealing with.” He added that Putin has reasons not to trust US or European leaders, “assuming worst case in good realist fashion.”

Several Western officials have described the Ukraine war as a proxy conflict against Russia.

Keith Kellogg, a Ukraine policy envoy under Trump, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio have used the term, a characterization echoed by the Kremlin.

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