Abstract. Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, which began in the format of a limited armed conflict, by the efforts of the United States was transformed into a full-scale indirect war of the collective West with the Russian Federation. Formally remaining outside the conflict, the United States is taking an active part in it, providing unprecedented military assistance to Ukraine. The main task of the American leadership is to inflict strategic defeats on Russia without endangering its own territory. On the Ukrainian front, the existential issue of preserving the positions of global dominance for the United States is being resolved, while for Russia this is a matter of preserving its statehood. The stakes for both sides are very high, and their interests are diametrically opposed. Therefore, it is difficult to count on a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict in the foreseeable future.