Absolutely agree. But I would mention, that the climate crackdown in the UK would had created tensions while still inside the EU. People could call a EU instance to talk about these events and the disintegration of protest rights to ask for commissions and maybe even sanctions. But they are not anymore in the Union. It is an island in the Atlantic that next higher power is now the sky above them. People wanted the power (or were told by russia to "claim back your land") and are now feeling the authoritarian changes that a EU can only comment on, but not act. And in Russia someone is delighted that this worked as fine as his work on the US.

My point is: If a big and strong country like russia is not distracted because it is working on its own topics and prosperity, but turning his whole attention on everyone other but his own people, it has a enormous scale to make others fail or at least stumble. If the guy in the Bike-Race decides that he has not to win the race by finishing first, but by throwing sticks in the wheel of the others, we have to acknowledge that our bruises are not because our bike is bad designed and unstable, but maybe that spokes are really weak compared to sticks.