I am sure that is part of the motivation but I am totally unconvinced that is all of it. Russia's independence from and defiance of the western law enforcement

I am sure that is part of the motivation but I am totally unconvinced that is all of it. Russia's independence from and defiance of the western law enforcement agencies, in things like money laundering, building a SWIFT alternative, cybercrime, piracy, and digital interference, among many others, are things that I think the US would like to do away with. Those aren't strictly security concerns but could still be defined that way. It would not surprise me at all if the US saw an opportunity for regime change that is more friendly to its own interests. Regime change seems to be a goal at present but has not been made official. I stated in another post that I felt that a centralized internet under more or less the same western laws globally, with exceptions like China, was not good for the internet which is why I agreed with the parent comment. That was my main point: Russian defiance of copyright laws is good for the internet. I believe that is not a view shared by most governments. I am less interested in war specifics.