Putin Ally Hit With Painful History Lesson From Fellow Pundit

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov was reminded by fellow pundit Andrey Sidorov, ​​deputy dean of world politics at Moscow State University, that Russia lost the Cold War to the U.S., during a television appearance.

Solovyov, the host of talk show Evening with Vladimir Solovyov on Russia 1, was mocking the U.S., asking "what war have Americans ever won," according to a video shared on YouTube by Russian Media Monitor.

Sidorov promptly responded: "The Cold War, Americans won the Cold War," before adding that it wasn't won militarily, after which Solovyov insisted that the strength of the U.S. army is only a fantasy created by "American cinema."

The two were talking about the current political situation in the U.S., where it's unclear whether more financial aid will be granted to Ukraine. According to Sidorov, the whole Ukraine package is "up in the air."

Last week, Senate Republicans blocked a $110 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and humanitarian efforts in Gaza as they balked at sending more support to Kyiv while the immigration reforms they had pushed for were left out of the bill.

President Joe Biden has warned that aid to Ukraine might run out in a few weeks if the package isn't passed, adding that maintaining Washington's support for Kyiv is crucial to keep a lid on the ambitions of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian pundits appear to have enjoyed the uncertainty in this situation and U.S. political divisions.

Sidorov said that the U.S. was "undoubtedly a mighty nation" that possesses "very serious potential, militarily, economically and financially." However, he also said that although the U.S. is not losing a major war, the "hegemon" is "slowly sinking."

Vladimir Solovyov
Vladimir Solovyov is seen in Moscow on February 21, 2023. He has mocked the U.S. army, saying it has never won a war. Contributor/Getty Images

According to Sidorov, "the mess that's been happening [in the U.S.] since 2016 is [Donald] Trump's enormous achievement," adding that the former president had done all he could to undermine the trust of Washington's allies. The deputy dean then said that Trump was a "good president" and if re-elected in 2024 he "will most likely take the U.S. out of NATO."

Trump is currently the Republican primary front-runner. As of December 10, the former president was ahead of his rivals with 59.3 percent of the Republican vote, according to FiveThirtyEight.

While Trump hasn't talked about whether he would want to withdraw the U.S. from NATO if re-elected, in 2019 he was reported to have discussed the topic privately.

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About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more