The fact that NATO feels compelled to massively increase the number of its soldiers on high alert shows the seriousness of the situation in Europe.
In recent public debates, the impression has repeatedly been conveyed that Russia is now so weakened militarily that for the time being there is no longer any need to worry about the possibility of an alliance.
The opposite is true.
The Western alliance must do everything possible to prevent Putin from escalating the conflict to the west, which his propagandists are already trying to bring about.
A robust deterrent with as many associations as possible is essential for this.
Zelenskyj is said to have said when he switched to the G-7 summit that he hoped for an end to the war before the end of this year.
It doesn't look like that at the moment.
In any case, it seems unlikely that Putin will give up his plans only because of the difficult conditions in the winter.
Ukraine and its supporters should continue to reckon with the possibility that the conflict will drag on.
Scenarios that were thought to have been overcome
And the new geostrategic conflict between Russia and China on the one hand and the democratic West on the other will shape world politics for a long time anyway, perhaps for generations.
Not only NATO will have to adapt to scenarios that were thought to have been overcome after the Cold War.
Unlike that time, the world today is multipolar.
The G7 meeting in the Bavarian Alps built the current world order, but will not be able to defend it alone.
Scholz is right, the world is not divided between the West and the rest as Putin claims.
In Elmau, there was roughly (declaratory) agreement with the partner countries on climate policy.
But the problems that the West has in getting countries like India or South Africa on its side in the Ukraine question show that the "Global South" is increasingly pursuing its own interest-oriented politics in the 21st century.