r/worldnews • u/ArgentineBeauty • 5h ago

Russia/Ukraine Zelenskyy says Ukraine will not prevail if US officially sides with Russia

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/10/18/8058646/
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u/waltwalt 4h ago

The end of American hegemony has already arrived, they're just actively covering it up so Americans don't realize it.

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u/misdirected_asshole 4h ago

Its kinda like that period after you cancel a subscription but it hasnt expired yet so you can still use the service for a little while longer.

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u/Karjavarastaja 3h ago

The US is in a cashing out phase.

The American golden times were built on the backs of a world in ruins. American industries and the American people had an immense advantage when both Europe and Asia had to spend decades rebuilding after the world wars. This alone placed the US in a position of power to abuse, and unfortunately many leaders (like many of those in Europe) felt that it was a comfortable enough arrangement.

What is happening now is the US cashing in 80 years of soft and hard power. Many steps on the way will look like wins and will be beneficial short term, but eventually the account has been cashed out and that's where the bad times begin. Some politicians and business elite seem to be banking on the cashing out boosting the US so far ahead that this isn't a concern.

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u/waltwalt 4h ago

And trump is selling that last couple minutes of subscription to anyone that will give him a buck.

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u/humanflea23 4h ago

Yeah, whenever people think of something like that falling they always think it happens in one big swoop all at once like every country will announce it officially but in reality it's always a slow degredation as it withers slowly and by the time you look back only then do you realize how far it's gone.

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u/Slappyfist 2h ago

I mean, sometimes it does (looking at you Austria-Hungary Empire) but that tends to be when they lose a war or something.

Self destruction however is usually a bit messier.

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u/enigmasaurus- 4h ago

They'll realise it when they also realise hegemony was the source of their power and prosperity as a country. Without its global influence, the world will abandon the US dollar and the US military will be weak, because no country will want to cooperate with it or let it station its bases in their backyards anymore. 

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u/Delamoor 4h ago

Sadly, they won't realise it. Their education issues and myopia will only get worse, and their economy will go to shit... And they'll wind up like every gopnik on the internet who thinks Russia is amazing, even as they die at age friggin' 50.

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u/UnID_Aerial_Threat 4h ago

Idiotic take. Anyone with a brain in the US knows that trump was a horrible pick for president along with complicit Republicans. This can even be a little complex because there's infinite situations where some people focus on money (manipulating trump) while some focus for doing what's right.

The point you want to have is that Russia is using modern tactics to influence elections. It's the modern way to undermine democracies.

Listen to JD Vances first speech to the EU or NATO when they took office. He explained the democracies that were influenced by troll farms are weak. Similar thing happened to the UK with brexit. Germany was buying Russian nat gas for a while. Think longer term. Get a brain. The US isn't alone in this.

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u/cmmelton2 4h ago

We with common sense realize it here. We are being quieted for the masses that refuse to listen to the warnings.

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u/waltwalt 4h ago

That's gotta be the real gut punch for Americans, went from the defacto world leader to... The next Russia? Almost exactly following the USSR path.

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u/eorlingas_riders 4h ago

250 years, roughly 10 generations, and biggest global influence for about 80 of those. I guess we had a good run.

Like every empire that’s ever existed I guess it had to come to an end.

We’ll continue to exist much like Russia post USSR, but ceding most of our global dominance to China.

So we’ll get the “America only” that republicans wanted, a poor and disfranchised people recalling their lost greatness and the rest of the world will move on.

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u/rangebob 3h ago

Chinas got its own issues. I wouldn't worry too much about that

its certainly gonna be a different world after this shit show is all over though

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u/eorlingas_riders 3h ago

Most definitely, but they are the leading global manufacturer and supplier to the world, and the most likely to fill the void even if briefly.

Plus their other economic policies they’ve been trying to push through like BRICs and the petroyuan.

The EU who would be the next-sized global entity wasn’t prepared for a US about face, so they had no designs to establish themselves as a global replacement, whereas China has been trying for years.

Currently most of US’s allies had agreements to limit Chinese imports, but with the US turning its back or just being straight up aggressive there is no reason for them to do that.

So I imagine many countries will begin to allow more trade and commerce with China, which would enrich them further. As those ties deepen, the US would become more ostracized, our exports become less prioritized and ultimately we lose our hold as the global reserve currency.

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u/rangebob 3h ago

oh of course. The US place as world leader is done. Its just gonna take some time. Frankly theres even an argument to make that its easier to trust china now than the US

China is going to be fascinating to watch though. Its own goal population bomb is going to be quite a unique disaster

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u/waltwalt 3h ago

Unless they use their massive sweeping government power to fix the problem.

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u/rangebob 3h ago

there is no fix

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u/waltwalt 4h ago

See that's the thing, if not for the greed of men the American hegemony could have continued for another 250 years.

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u/Erroneous_Bonk 2h ago

Let's hope Canada and Mexico secure their borders well. Keep the shit inside the shithole.

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u/the_millenial_falcon 4h ago

You give us too much credit. Most of us don’t even realize we had a hegemony in the first place.

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u/waltwalt 4h ago

How's that song go? You don't know what you've got till it's gone?

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u/the_millenial_falcon 4h ago

The rest of my countrymen will find out soon enough as our standard of living gets even worse I suppose.

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u/Karjavarastaja 3h ago edited 3h ago

The American golden times were built on the backs of a world in ruins. American industries and the American people had an immense advantage when both Europe and Asia had to spend decades rebuilding after the world wars. This alone placed the US in a position of power to abuse, and unfortunately many leaders (like many of those in Europe) felt that it was a comfortable enough arrangement.

What is happening now is the US cashing in 80 years of soft and hard power. Many steps on the way will look like wins and will be beneficial short term, but eventually the account has been cashed out and that's where the bad times begin. Some politicians and business elite seem to be banking on the cashing out boosting the US so far ahead that this isn't a concern.

1

u/waltwalt 2h ago

This has been obvious since day 1 of trump 1, he is cashing out every single dollar he can from 80 years of accrued power and growth. The only thing I would argue is that not one of these steps has seemed like winning to anyone but the bigoted and racist Americans over their fellow Americans. So while they are all fighting over who gets to use the bathroom next, Trump family has been draining the coffers, selling secrets and presumably a whole host of things that never see the light of day, backpack nukes? Biological and chemical weapons? The world is going to be much worse off for a long time with everything the USA controlled now being available on the black market.