This opinion was expressed on Espreso TV by renowned American diplomat Michael Carpenter, who previously served as U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs and U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE (2021–2024), in an interview with Anton Borkovskyi, host of the program Studio West."The world order is now undergoing a process of multipolarization. The bipolar structure of the Cold War was followed by the unipolar structure of American hegemony after it ended. Now we are seeing the rise of new powers, greater competition among major states, and the erosion of the so-called rules-based international order. The war between Russia and Ukraine is crucial because it serves as a crucible in which the growing contest between global democracies and global autocracies is becoming clear," the diplomat noted.According to him, the U.S. has rallied a coalition of about 50 democratic countries around itself in support of Ukraine. If you look at the composition of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, known as the “Ramstein” format, all of its participants are democratic states that support Ukraine. The same applies to the G7 and the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which also bring together democracies that stand with Kyiv."On the other side, we have Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Iran, and China cooperating as autocracies to prevent the victory of Western democracy. So, the way I see the global order evolving is toward a far more contested reality between the forces of democracy and autocracy worldwide. Ukraine is the epicenter of this contest, but it will likely manifest in other regions and other forms in the years ahead," Carpenter concluded.On October 10, US President Donald Trump said he might cancel his planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping after Beijing imposed tougher rules on rare metal exports.