Kathrine Frich
He painted recent US diplomatic moves as a clear sign of American retreat.
Late-night talk shows are usually a place for light jokes and celebrity gossip.
On certain networks, however, prime-time television serves a much darker purpose.
Lately, the studio microphones in one capital city have been buzzing with bold new claims about who really runs the world.
A bold claim
Pundits on Russian state television are openly celebrating what they call a total victory over Washington, the Daily Express reported.
During a recent broadcast on the Russia-1 network, pro-Kremlin commentators treated the war in Ukraine as a finished chapter and declared that the United States has already lost.
The sharp remarks aired on the programme hosted by prominent propagandist Vladimir Solovyov. Political scientist Dmitry Kulikov told viewers that American leaders are split over how to handle their failure.
According to the Daily Express, he argued that one faction in Washington “does not consider it wrong to take revenge for a lost war.”
Then Kulikov went further. “You need to turn the table over and start the game again. And who did they lose to? … They lost to the Russian Federation. They don’t know that,” he said on the show. When Solovyov jumped in, Kulikov repeated his point: “They know, they know, Volodya, they know.”
Leaving Europe behind
Alongside fellow commentator Dmitry Drobnitsky, the panel painted recent US diplomatic moves as a clear sign of American retreat. Kulikov claimed that “America’s distance from Ukraine is growing” and dismissed the old promise of “not a word about Ukraine without Ukraine” in major global talks.
“They will obviously not listen to anyone from Zelensky,” he added, as cited by the Daily Express.
In the eyes of Solovyov’s guests, Europe is also fading fast. The panel described the continent as returning to “rather resonant periods in its history when it was disintegrating before our very eyes and turning into an absolute global province.” One speaker even asked why major powers like China, Russia, and the US would need Ukraine or Europe at all.
Instead, the guests suggested Donald Trump sees this new power balance clearly. “Trump is waiting and ready for a three-way meeting with Putin and Xi Jinping. Because well, Trump gets it,” one commentator remarked on air.
Eyes on Iran
Still, the speakers were careful not to call the US president an ally. “This does not mean that he is our friend,” one guest noted, according to the Daily Express, before adding that “the relationship that has developed between the leaders of our countries allows us to speak of an atmosphere of trust.”
They also pointed out that “Trump has never uttered any insults towards the President of the Russian Federation. Unlike, say, other American presidents.”
Toward the end of the broadcast, the panel shifted its focus to the Middle East. The Daily Express noted that Kremlin-backed voices routinely frame easing US pressure as weakness, and this time they predicted Washington will suffer another loss against Iran.
