The Russian invasion of Ukraine brought the harsh reality of a hot war back to the European continent. This event produced unexpected levels of balancing behavior of the US and the EU, vindicating the neorealist theory of acts of balancing in response to threats. Against the imminent and real threat of the Russian aggression, the EU once again yielded to the NATO alliance, abandoning any level of autonomy in its defense domain. The Biden administration, tied to Ukraine policy, would not let a newly assertive Russia challenge US’s influence in Europe. However, while the second year of the war is coming to an end, signs of war fatigue and political division in the US are making the ending of the Russian war in Ukraine, at least in favor of the West, seem like an almost impossible task.