Geopolitical and Policy Expert explains how Ukraine and Russia a Distraction for U.S. stoked by the CCP
via NTD:
In a recent interview with NTD TV, cyber and national security expert Casey Fleming analyzed the hidden hand of China in the Russia-Ukraine war, making the case that Beijing is not a neutral observer but an active manipulator using the conflict to weaken the United States and reshape global power dynamics.
Fleming began by emphasizing that the Russia-Ukraine war should never be seen in isolation. Instead, it is a critical piece of a larger geopolitical chessboard in which China is the dominant player. According to Fleming, China views Russia as a junior partner—a useful but ultimately weaker power that can serve its strategic objectives. While Russia provides the muscle and unpredictability, China provides the long-term vision and coordination, with the United States as the central target.
The primary goal, Fleming argued, is distraction. By aligning with Russia and tacitly encouraging its war in Ukraine, China ensures that Washington is bogged down in a draining proxy conflict. Billions of dollars in aid, military resources, and political energy have been funneled into sustaining Kyiv. For Beijing, this is a masterstroke: every dollar and weapon sent to Ukraine is one less available to counter Chinese ambitions in the Indo-Pacific, especially regarding Taiwan.
He underscored that this strategy reflects a broader pattern of asymmetric warfare. Rather than risk a direct clash with the United States, China leverages partners like Russia to keep America stretched thin. Fleming compared it to a magician’s sleight of hand: while the audience is fixated on one hand, the real trick happens with the other. The U.S., absorbed in Ukraine, risks being caught flat-footed when China escalates aggression in Asia.
Fleming noted that China’s dominance in the partnership is evident. Russia, battered by sanctions, battlefield losses, and economic isolation, is increasingly dependent on China for survival. Beijing buys Russian oil and gas at discounted rates, provides technological support to keep Moscow afloat, and offers diplomatic cover in global forums. In return, Russia serves as China’s “chaos agent,” destabilizing Europe and forcing NATO to commit massive resources to the eastern front. This division of labor plays directly into China’s long game of surpassing the United States as the world’s leading power.
Fleming says to Wake Up or Lose
The interview highlighted how Beijing studies American vulnerabilities. Fleming said China has concluded that the U.S. is most easily weakened not through military confrontation but through strategic overload. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan demonstrated how prolonged conflicts sap U.S. willpower, unity, and resources. By fueling Russia’s war in Ukraine, Beijing is essentially recreating those conditions—only this time closer to Europe’s heart.
Importantly, Fleming pointed out that China’s support for Russia is not boundless. Beijing carefully calibrates its involvement to avoid triggering Western sanctions or a unified backlash. Instead of overt military aid, it provides dual-use technologies, intelligence sharing, and financial lifelines that skirt international restrictions. This way, China reaps the benefits of partnership without incurring the costs of outright alignment.
Fleming also warned of the psychological and political dimensions of China’s play. A prolonged war in Ukraine fractures Western unity, deepens partisan divides in the U.S., and exhausts public patience for foreign entanglements. Each of these outcomes benefits China, which seeks a divided and distracted America. If Washington becomes consumed by debates over aid to Ukraine, Fleming said, it will be less capable of addressing critical issues like semiconductor supply chains, cyber defense, and military readiness in the Pacific.
Looking ahead, Fleming suggested that policymakers must recognize the Russia-Ukraine war as more than a European security crisis. It is, at root, a China problem. Unless the U.S. acknowledges Beijing’s orchestration, it risks continuing to play defense on multiple fronts. Fleming urged American leaders to focus less on “symptom management” in Ukraine and more on confronting the disease itself: the Chinese Communist Party’s ambition to replace the United States at the top of the global order.
The interview concluded with Fleming’s sober assessment: the Russia-China relationship is not one of equals, but a calculated partnership in which Russia plays the expendable role. China, meanwhile, advances steadily toward its goals, exploiting every U.S. distraction. If America fails to adapt, it will find itself reacting to crises rather than shaping them.
In short, Fleming’s analysis reframed the Ukraine conflict as a tool in China’s larger strategy—a war of distraction designed to drain U.S. power while Beijing quietly positions itself as the ultimate winner.
