The U.S., Russia, China and others have been engaging in a zero sum war for (resources, power, influence)- no direct shooting so far thankfully but every other avenue is open - The Ukraine coup is part of this and in some ways it was brilliant because Russia was !@#$ed either way ,on the other hand is !@#$ing with a country that can effectively end civilization really that smart, Russia can't really win the game but they could kick over the board anytime they want to - another thing it was part of a foreign policy that pushed Russia and China closer together and while it was always Zbigniew Brzezinski dream to ring fence China and Russia until China invaded Russia for resources, what we have now is a Russia China relationship that is closest it's been since the 1950s.
Separately China and Russia have a lot of problems but together they are a hell of a foe, Putin is trying pretty hard to peel off any European country it can from a U.S. directed agenda and China going to treat the China Sea the same way Israel treats the West Bank .