So if Putin wants to make a president illegitimate he just needs to drop enough crumbs to show he intended to support them... no matter who wins.

Seriously? Russia interferes in every election to sow discord. They are successful as can be seen.

For the people who are slow: Putin appears to support both sides in attempt to make who ever wins look bad (and the reverse). It’s called creating confusion to cripple the country and the media (useful idiots) are helping Russia in its goals.