In the early phases of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “What we have heard today are not just missile blasts, fighting and the rumble of aircrafts. It is the sound of a new iron curtain which has come down and is closing Russia off from the civilised world.” It was a symbolically powerful statement, hearkening back to the Cold War where Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain between “East” influenced by Russia, and “West” influenced by the United States through the NATO military alliance. Although this is no longer the Cold War, both the US and Rus…