If you are a Russian "president" and have domestic troubles like a crappy economy and lots of Covid, always remember the 34th rule of acquisition "War is good for business".
> The country’s official coronavirus death toll is 102,649. But at least 300,000 more people died last year during the pandemic than were reported in Russia’s most widely cited official statistics.
That is interesting. Very reasonable approach. The only problem is that they failed to provide the link to the materials they used in the study. And I don't see death rate statistics for 2020, only for 2019 and before. Publication calendar states that the nearset publication is expected on May, 15.
I have not checked source but it's claimed around the world. There is a link [1] in another article [2]. RF propaganda would react on false claims, silence means it is correct. So far its response is "I can't compare numbers" [3].
If you are president of RF and caused Covid-19 epidemic (search for "blast at Vector lab"), the most rational move is to increase tension and then try to trade peace for amnesty.