Located hundreds of miles from the front, the R-280 Novorrosiya highway was, until a few months ago, not only a quiet route between southern Russia and Crimea. It was arguably the Kremlin’s biggest strategic achievement in four years of war in Ukraine. This land corridor along the Sea of Azov freed Russian logistics from relying on its massive Kerch Strait bridge to supply the peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, and the forces deployed in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. However, new Ukrainian weapons have made all routes to Crimea extremely perilous, a situation comparable to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, giving Kyiv new leverage to pressure Moscow. Crimea, the jewel of Putinism and a pilgrimage destination for Russian tourists, is no longer safe and is running out of fuel.

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The World Cup kicks off this Thursday when Mexico host South Africa at the historic Estadio Azteca, and FIFA has never wished more for the ball to start rolling. Once again, the game and its universal passion call for the rescue of the world or, at least, to bring it some peace of mind. Soccer aspires to serve as the very same unifying force that soothed tensions after World War II, even if the latent, globalized geopolitical tension makes it difficult.

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