I've been looking at the trade agreements Russia had with European nations prior to the invasion, and the US shattered every one of them over the last decade. Sanctions forced small nations to purchase more expensive goods within Europe, and slowly suffocated Russia.

The US intended to isolate and keep nations away from Russia. I believe the claim Russia wants to rebuild the USSR's global influence derived from trade agreements Putin made with the Global South. Cuba received funding from Russia until a few months ago, and Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African nations developed closer ties.

IMF loans and one-sided trade agreements with the US has coerced nations to seek alternative partners. China and Russia offer the Global South a way out of the poverty imposed on them by the Global North, and at this point, why would these nations continue "partnering" with the US?

US economic development initiatives never intended for countries to prosper, and now, China's an enemy because it beat the poverty cycle. As if we were going to let Russia gain as much financial strength. There's only room for one super-power, and I think people underestimate the US' cunning intelligence.