Actually, it goes further than that. Russia has always been the master of Realpolitik. In this case, they pushed Iran to encourage Hamas, in the hopes that it w

Actually, it goes further than that. Russia has always been the master of Realpolitik. In this case, they pushed Iran to encourage Hamas, in the hopes that it would distract America and draw their focus away from Ukraine. That it split voters was just icing on the cake. Most Russian initiatives are small, inexpensive, and speculative in nature. Do enough of them in concert, and some will succeed at very low cost to you, and with convenient deniability (undersea cables, for example). And since they don't have to fear Western armed belligerence anymore, it's very low-cost indeed!