Putin is a Chinese puppet. https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/russia-and-china-unveil-a-pact-against-america-and-the-west

China has won the trade war. It is perfectly logical, in fact inevitable, that China extend its power reach from trade domination to military and strategic power projection.

All empires built on trade domination are forced to project their power to protect and enhance the resource hegemony/trade routes that are vital to a dominant trading nation.

USA is a failing decadent legacy power facing the rise of Chinese wealth and power. More new millionaires and billionaires are created in China everyday that USA. Young Chinese quite reasonably look forward to a brighter future while young Americans cannot.

Trump is enabling and legitimising Putins land grab in Ukraine and by so doing encourages Chinas strategy of incrementally dismantling the USA led global order and replacing it with a world where China is predominant.

Allowing and enabling Chinas expansion might be an expedient short term move for USA but longer term it cements the decline and collapse of US wealth and power as it alienates traditional allies and isolates USA.