Profiting from let’s you and him fight is a classic, and was factored in to the US’ grand chessboard strategy against Russia.

Speaking of salami slicing: every accusation is a confession. https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/06/06/the-wests-fear-of-escalation-is-russias-greatest-weapon/

However, such overt and assertive threats to the West on core issues like NATO’s existence are unlikely to yield any tangible results for Russia. Therefore, to manage escalation while achieving geopolitical goals, Russia employs what experts term “Salami slicing tactics” — tactics involving incremental, limited actions to expand influence while mitigating the risk of escalation.