Exactly, except you are wrong about the under the table part. They seem to be rather brazen about it lately.
I don’t think the Russians are to worried about us or the Euro’s, so them being brazen about this isn’t surprising.
Ultimately, the US military is the under writer of US foreign policy, and the US is the leader of the pact (Western free nations). When the US concedes to Iran, Russia, Assad, (as we have), no one else will step up to the plate. Ironically, that is what many in Europe have been hoping for all along, and we shall see how much they like this trend in years to come.
Dealing with hyenas from the position of weakness doesn’t get you good outcomes, and the world is full of hyenas.