Indeed, and it’s also worth noting that the US was able to do whatever it wanted geopolitically after USSR dissolved. All the people running things now formed their core beliefs during that brief unipolar period, and they never adjusted their view to match current reality. There was an implicit assumption that they just had to blow hard enough and Russia would collapse like a house of cards. Now the realization that Russia will not bow is starting to sink in, and we can see the panic growing.