Just as they backed Trump because they thought he was the weakest republican, and one least hostile to Russia,
Not in Putin's estimation. He considered Clinton to be an enemy, and he had in his pocket a bit of kompromat on Trump. No one in the U.S. at the time knew that Trump was lying when he said that he had no deals in the works with Russia. But Putin knew he did.
Trump actually delayed aid to Ukraine. Not just to help Russia; he also hoped to force Ukraine to help him get dirt on a political rival. On the other hand...
By March 2015, the US had
committed more than $120 million in security assistance for Ukraine and had pledged an additional $75 million worth of equipment including UAVs, counter-mortar radars, night vision devices and medical supplies, according to the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
That assistance also included some 230 armored Humvee vehicles.
Trump withheld the aid until a whistle-blower outed him and he was forced to let it go. While Congress mandated the aid, Trump held off sending it as long as he could. Even his own GAO admitted that he broke the law in trying to stop the aid to Ukraine.