Is an anti-West axis forming faster than expected? Just days after Ukraine’s daring drone strikes deep inside Russia, Moscow’s allies are rallying. Belarusian President Lukashenko landed in Beijing, where Xi Jinping welcomed him as a “true friend” and vowed deeper strategic cooperation. Isolated by sanctions and shunned by the West, Belarus is doubling down on ties with China. Meanwhile, Russia’s top security chief, Sergei Shoigu, arrived in North Korea for high-level talks with Kim Jong Un, signaling intensifying military coordination under the 2024 strategic agreement. As Belarus tilts East and Pyongyang embraces Moscow, a clear four-nation bloc—Russia, China, Belarus, North Korea—is emerging in defiance of the Western-led world order.