In 1983, U.S. President Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union an empire of evil. In 2002, President George W. Bush said there existed an "axis of evil," consisting of Iran, Iraq and North Korea — countries that support international terrorism.

After Russia's attack on Ukraine in 2022, it became clear that a new axis of evil has emerged in the world, one more dangerous than all previous empires and axes combined. Let us recall that in the Second World War the Axis powers were Germany, Italy and Japan, but they did not carry out a single joint military operation. Japan did not even inform Germany about the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Hatred of the West

Russia, North Korea, Iran and China currently form a grouping that, for some reason, people hesitate to call an axis. What could communist North Korea, communist China with elements of a market economy, Islamist Iran and predatory‑capitalist totalitarian Russia possibly have in common? Not much — except one most important element: hatred of Western values and of the West as a whole.

Hatred is one of the main driving forces in international relations. Let us recall the blind hatred of Islamic extremism toward Israel. We must not forget that three of the four countries possess nuclear weapons, and the fourth is itching to get them.

There are few dangerous events in which the fingers of these four countries have not been involved. For us, the most important is of course the war in Ukraine. Without the cooperation of this quartet, Russia likely would not have been able to wage this war for so long. China's role has been the most concealed, focusing mainly on buying oil and gas from Russia and smuggling dual‑use technology to Russia.

North Korea and Iran's role is entirely public. North Korea has even sent its own soldiers (according to various estimates 12,000–15,000) to fight Ukrainians. Now Ukrainian intelligence has information that they want to send another 30,000 soldiers. According to South Korean intelligence, North Korea has sent Russia nearly five million artillery shells. Added to this are rockets and launch systems. In a late‑July attack on Ukraine, a North Korean ballistic missile hit a residential building near Kryvyi Rih, killing an entire large family.

No one has counted how many civilians have been killed by Iran's Shahed‑type drones. The fact is that these drones have terrorized people for years.

Soon it may be too late

The fact that these countries have not defined their relations as an "axis" does not reduce their dangerousness. Foreign Affairs wrote about this at length on July 1. These countries have mutual military agreements that can be activated quickly.

Their dangerousness is also increased by the fact that their cooperation has been two‑way. Russia, for example, has shared space technology with North Korea in exchange for shells and rockets. Allegedly, Russian space intelligence helped Iran when it attacked U.S. targets in the Middle East. If they wish, they can simultaneously create flashpoints in different parts of the world. The United States cannot respond everywhere at once.

It might be worth asking: if there is an axis of evil, then where is the axis of good? During Ronald Reagan's time, everything was clear. One might assume it is still NATO, but current U.S. foreign policy is characterized more by quarreling with its allies than by seeking effective measures to fight the axis of evil. This is unfortunate, because in a few years it may be too late.

Recently, Finland's Iltalehti wrote that if Russia were to attack Finland, it would not do so alone. Among Russian munitions, components from North Korea, Iran and China would certainly be found — just as in Ukraine today.

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