You dismiss the research and numbers, then re-iterate your point, as if the research and numbers don't exist. Wilful ignorance of reality is still ignorance.
On the contrary. I actually criticise dismissing all the research except for "recent". And no one actually brought up any numbers.
Sorry, what is your point exactly? It's hard to figure with link-only answers to huge longreads. I've skimmed the first link and didn't find anything contradictory.
The second link provides a quote that doesn't have too much to do with the topic at hand? Did you read every word attentively? I don't understand how a quote about someone on some economic summit making some statements and the US allocating funds for some operations (might as well be as useful as "building sustainable democratic institutes") on ex-USSR (that's not Russia) is not representative of anything.
> Also Warcast from the ISI which recently did a great podcast on the subject.
Sorry, I am sure this podcast has amazing entertainment value, but referring someone to a podcast is akin to referring to a facebook post.
(https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1117290.pdf, https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&c..., https://ips-dc.org/aid_to_russia/). Also Warcast from the ISI which recently did a great podcast on the subject.