It did not make Russia Ukraine, but it supported that military operation and did not declare its opposition to it from the beginning, as most countries in the world did. It also did not abide by the international sanctions imposed on Russia and expressed its approval to buy Russian petroleum products. Isn't this considered declared support?
You can imagine what the situation would have been like if China had not been an ally of Russia, or it can be said that China is the one moving things behind the scenes on the Russian side, just as the United States plays the same role on the Ukrainian-western side.
I get what you are saying now.
I would say that Russia is the
third most important actor in the world after the US and China. They still have thousands of nukes, and a formidable army--and geographically, they are very strategic.
And Russia is aligned against us just as China is, so I'm not sure what difference it make: we have to win in Ukraine or it will go very, very badly for us. No different than if we let Hitler take England and the rest of Europe. (Or actually far worse, because the world is more globalized now).
As a father I know that if Trump is elected and he surrenders Europe to Putin, my son will go to war a few years later. This is what happened in the 1930s and a big political faction in the US (half of the Republicans, it looks like to me) is intent in repeating history.