Yes, as every one knows, empires have no clothes. Reaching an end-stage hostile senility, they lash out doom towards finality. Empires draw down their national resources and burn through everyone elses. Every cruel destructive disharmony , is directed at keeping hegemony.

Finely crafted direct insult aimed at the USA from Putin. Empires meddle, corrupt and destroy everything and everywhere, absolutely, because they can, from being single goal minded.

“It diminishes the standing of a country that is desperately trying to make sure it maintains its standing as a major world power.”

No human tribal centric and powerful state institution is capable of anything else.