If Bloomberg is a reliable source, or Kay Bailey Hutchison, here's them presenting her saying as much.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sYz2SIqFiKQ

Is the BBC legit?

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26769481

What about CNN?

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/10/europe/russia-putin-empire-restoration-endgame-intl-cmd


If you have a full 6 minutes to spend, Fareed Zakaria has a pretty good synopsis of the Putin years re: Russian hegemony.

https://www.facebook.com/fareedzakaria/videos/fareeds-take-vladimir-putin-has-for-years-been-trying-to-rebuild-the-tsarist-emp/1275576303538648/