The old paradigm of Russian leader equals bad, USA President equals (basically) good is long dead. Probably died with Reagan but we didn’t notice at the time. Currently there are a few blocks of power vying for influence around the world - the EU, Russia, China and the US as well as the constantly undermining factor of the UN and the destructive force of Islam. It used to be that you could count on the US and European Nations to be the good guys - no longer and I am not sure that if that would change with a change of leadership in the US. They all seem hell bent in going the same way despite the protestations of most of their inhabitants. They are all anti-Christian and anti-Israel. It seems that fulfillment of the Prophetic Christian texts seems inevitable - it may be just a matter of when!
Mel
God may be looking at the modern world and saying that He doesn’t really have a dog in the hunt any more. The four main forces in the world are different shades of ungodly — the largely atheist and politically correct west, the demonic creations of Islam, the sinister unrenounced communism of Putin, and the non-spiritual monolith of China.
There may be a few smaller countries that resonate better with God’s true identity and purpose, and a remnant of the faithful in the west and in Israel.
As to Putin claiming the moral high ground, I suspect that much of this is for strategic purposes and not a deeply felt personal set of values at all. If it advanced his agenda to embrace the rainbow and start sending Christians to the gulag, he would no doubt turn that way. The only god that Putin serves is Putin.