What does the US gain from a scarier, bigger Russia?
EU scared out their ass...and not trusting Russia. But a weak Russia the Germans French etc would feel comfortable 'collabing' with and maybe at the expense of the Americans.
So yeah, if Russia kept getting encroached upon, and weakened as it was, it would eventually get in bed with the EU or the EU with it and see themselves as more than energy consumers/suppliers. With the Chinese funding silk-road. That would basically cut the US from the old world forever.
But Russia slightly, ever so slightly puffed up...will serve the US in the long term, more than the 'weakened Russia' scenario I wrote above.
And all the proof you need for it is Joe Biden basically got it right about the Russian invasion. To be fair, betting on US Intel in 21st c. is like going to a Globetrotters game and betting on the Generals. So I really didn't think Putin was gonna invade. But the fact he did and Biden called it and got the timing right, tells me they agreed on this for the reasons stated above.