Potemkin or not, Russia won the war against Georgia even while we tried to support it.
Russia seems to have virtually won over Ukraine.
Don’t they also support Iran - and no one seems to have touched them?
The Russkies, in fact, did not achieve their objectives in Ukraine. Crimea was taken, yes, but the full territory of “NovoRussiya”, that Russian fantasy, still remains in Ukrainian hands. The Russkies, even after pumping Russian soldiers and advanced weaponry into Ukraine, are still only holding a small sliver of the East. That is why the Russkies are screwing around with cease fires and international agreements, because they’re hoping to use these negotiations to gobble up more territory. For example, agree to a ceasefire, have the Ukrainians pull back, then take more territory by accusing the Ukrainians of breaking the cease fire and pretending that the Ukrainians attack by marching in reverse, then negotiate a new cease fire.