The fate of figure skater Kamila Valieva and theexpected invasion of Ukraine seem worlds apart but they are linked by Russia’s aggressive pursuit of its national interest and the international community’s appeasement.

Russia was banned for four years from international sport in 2019 for state-sanctioned doping,only to be allowed back in a year later by the International Olympic Committee. It now sits second on the overall medal tally as the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). Tchaikovsky plays on the podium in place of the national anthem but Putin still personally congratulates his stars.

On Friday,he sent a message to Anna Shcherbakova,who beat Valieva to gold. “You gave a brilliant performance on Beijing’s ice,showing high class and a huge creative potential,” he told the 17-year-old. “A decent award for your hard work,persistence and determination.”

Rink side was Filipp Shvetsky,a doctor who was suspended for four years from international sport for supervising a doping regime. Behind the stands was Valieva,tears streaming down her face,after soaring so high and then falling so low as the weight of a positive test to the banned drugtrimetazidine weighed on her.

Valieva may have failed but Russia had its champion. Now it has its sights set on Ukraine. US President Joe Biden said on Saturday that the pretence is being sought for an invasion.

“We have reason to believe the Russian forces are planning to and intend to attack Ukraine in the coming week,in the coming days,” he said.

“We believe that they will target Ukraine’s capital,Kyiv,a city of 2.8 million innocent people.”

We have seen this before. In July 2014,Russia annexed Crimea after what it labelled as attacks by Ukrainian’s on pro-Russian separatists. Sanctions on Moscow followed,but almost a decade on they have done little to dampen the appetite of Putin to take back more territory he sees as his own.

The US State Department claims Russia is going to fabricate attacks by the Ukrainian military on Russian speakers as a pretence for war. Russia has denied those claims but some 190,000 troops on the Ukrainian border – the biggest military build-up in Europe since World War II – does not suggest it is clamouring for peace.

Putin will on Sunday watch Russia against Finland in the ice hockey gold medal match. The final act in a two-week extravaganza that had Russia beating the United States to the final of a sport it claims as its own.

Xi’s China finishes these Olympics with more medals than ever before,a COVID-free Games and a much-needed surge in consumer spending. Russia finishes it being the centre of attention.

“When we look back at these Games,we won’t be remembering gold medals,” said Noah Hoffman,a US cross country Olympian in 2014 and 2018.

“We are going to remember that they were used to bolster two different authoritarian regimes.”

Get a note directly from our foreigncorrespondentson what’s making headlines around the world.Sign up for the weeklyWhat in the World newsletter here.