in Kyiv. “For observers in Ukraine, which looks to the US as a key ally in its undeclared seven-year war with Russia, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan represents a particularly ominous sight,” she writes in an essay first posted in Ukrainska Pravda. “Few would question the Ukrainian military’s ability to stand alone, if necessary. Even so, the nature of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan has set off alarm bells throughout Ukraine and served as a wake-up call for anyone who still believes that continued Western support can be relied upon indefinitely.”