Is there any reason whatsoever to think Russia interfered? I mean outside the bull of "Russian person or company bought ads on Facebook", because if that counts I think half the world interfered in the election.
how about they hacked into private servers, stole private emails, carefully curated the most embarrassing segments, then released them throughout the internet? does that count?
From a nation-state perspective I would hope they attempt to interfere in the elections of their national rivals in order to eke out an advantage on the global playing field, just as I expect my own government to be doing the same.
Endorsing a candidate is not "meddling in elections". Anyone trying to sell that line is not on the level.
There certainly have been plenty of instances of the US doing very bad things globally (your second link is very much legit), but I guess the stated goal of spreading democracy is better than whatever straight up authoritarian states like Russia are peddling, even if it can be frustrating when things fail to live up to the ideal.
I think you can certainly argue for less US involvement abroad and still view Russia's actions in a very, very poor light.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt here, and assume you're asking this in good faith. The answer is a resounding "yes".
1. On social media, the IRA (Russia's Internet Research Agency) posed as Americans on Twitter and Facebook, and was ordered to amplify and provoke political and social discord in the United States. They organized political rallies (including "Blue Lives Matter") and fake Facebook groups, complete with convenient memes, unwittingly shared by people like Donald Trump Jr., Kellyanne Conway, Michael Flynn, etc.
2. The GRU hacked into email accounts owned by volunteers and employees of the Clinton campaign. They also hacked into the DNC and DCCC and released the stolen emails and documents to Wikileaks.
3. There were 140 contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian government officials around the 2016 election.
I suggest you read the Mueller report if you're actually curious about this.
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-campaign-russia-govern...
Here's another one about something much smaller and more local than the election:
https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-trolls-senate-intelli...
They were trying to get Americans to fight in the streets, and organized a protest and counter protest!