Bloomberg today highlighted its concerns about the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Moscow. The article begins with, “For Washington, isolating Vladimir Putin just keeps getting harder.” India’s close ties with Russia are a “bitter pill for Washington to swallow.”

The U.S. has invested significant effort to bring India closer, aiming to use it as a counterbalance to China. American diplomats have worked hard to steer investments, encourage technology sharing, and boost defense cooperation with New Delhi.

Recent events have added to the growing anxiety in Washington and London about their diminishing ability to control global affairs, making this article a snapshot of their increasing frustration.

Washington’s efforts to isolate Vladimir Putin are becoming increasingly difficult.

While officials of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization gathered in Washington in the hopes of showing a united front against Russia, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugged Putin in Moscow.

Modi’s visit follows Russia’s hosting of foreign ministers from the expanding BRICS bloc and comes just a week after Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Kazakhstan, describing their nations’ relationship as the “best period in history”, reports Bloomberg.

Russia’s embrace of China makes strategic sense given that both have emerged as Washington’s top two competitors, with commerce growing since Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine in early 2022.

India’s connection with Russia is perhaps a more difficult pill for Washington to swallow.

US diplomats have made significant efforts to cultivate India as a bulwark against China. They have guided investment flows, promoted technology exchange, and increased defense collaboration with New Delhi.

Modi’s visit on the same day that the West accused Russia of destroying Ukraine’s primary children’s hospital is all the more galling for the US and its allies, particularly Kyiv, since President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has condemned the trip.

Part of the reason for Washington’s failure to pull India away is historical: New Delhi’s tight connections with Russia date back to the Cold War and India’s membership in the non-aligned Movement.

However, it has a lot to gain right now: India is a major consumer of Russian oil and weapons, and sources say it’s looking for a long-term supply of uranium for a nuclear power plant.

The US has expressed its worries. Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman, encouraged India Monday to raise Ukraine’s territorial integrity with Russia.

It’s unclear whether Modi has done so.

Even if he did, Washington appears powerless to separate what Miller described as a “strategic partner” from the Kremlin.

As the NATO summit continues in Washington this week, it’s clouded by a sense of failure. The Atlantic Council’s Frederick Kempe described it well in his Inflection Points column on July 9, titled: “Putin, Xi, Orbán, and Modi Provide a Disturbing Backdrop to the Start of the NATO Summit, noting that the recent visits to Moscow and Beijing by EU president Viktor Orbán and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alongside growing doubts about Biden’s leadership, set a troubling stage.

Despite these setbacks, Western leaders are doubling down on war, with Biden announcing new air defenses for Ukraine, including Patriot missiles and F-16 jets. The summit also discussed making Ukraine a permanent part of NATO, a move that could push us closer to World War III, since Russia sees this as a red line. NATO is also planning to strengthen its presence in the Asia-Pacific to challenge China.

These actions seem like desperate moves, reacting to the West’s crumbling unity and its failing narrative.