That hasn’t been correct since Yeltsin was power. The direction Russia has been going in was going on long before the conflict with Ukraine. Aligning with Iran, Syria, and terrorist organizations was going on long before that.
When the color revolution began in late 2013 and resulting resulting in a coup d'état in 2014 (a 3 month & 1 day time span), Putin knew he had to join forces with someone.
As you look around the once free world, it resembles the USSR, and it is getting worse as time passes. Europe have basically been captured by invaders who were welcomed early on, but has not pretty much destroyed Europe, just as the invasion of our country is destroying the U.S. Their leaders & our leaders were responsible for these invasions. The central governing entity, the EU based in Brussels did this purposely, just as Bide/Harris allowed it to happen here.
But that was a fallback rebound situation, and it was not his first choice as to who he wanted to align with, because many of them are enemies of Russia, but they became the lesser threat than NATO presented for Russia.
This conflict between Ukraine & Russia would have never happened if the theft had been stopped. But both political parties here wanted Trump gone, because he was ruining the push for the creation of a One World Government.
Russia became a pariah , because he opposed this creation of a One World Government, while China agreed to it. China would have never has actually allowed that One World Government to take control, but it would have eliminated the U.S that threatened their quest for world domination. They had zero intention of allowing them to take what they themselves have been seeking.