The US is not trying to leverage Ukraine to invade Russia.
What the US wants to do, and nearly always has done, is destabilize and then coup with a puppet regime.
The US wants to replace Putin with another US puppet like Yeltsin.
Creating instability within and all around Russia appears to be the way the US plans to do this.
Instability has other benefits for the US: it makes other countries feel they need US protection. And of course it's good for the Military Industrial Complex.
Quoting from the article linked below:
"The US and Europe have been confronting Russia over Ukraine for some time. US intelligence claimed that Russia could "invade Ukraine" as soon as early 2022, while Russian President Vladimir Putin accused NATO of planning to deploy missile systems in Ukraine that could strike Moscow within minutes..."
"But the US is continuously escalating tensions in Eastern Ukraine. Since the beginning of this year, the US has sent strategic bombers, including B-52s and B-1Bs to approach areas such as Black Sea. In November, the US sent strategic bombers and conducted simulated nuclear strikes against Russia, and entered airspace 20 kilometers away from Russian border, in an obviously provocative move. In addition, Washington released information such as it would impose economic sanctions on Russia and deploy more troops in Eastern Europe to pile on maximum pressure. It is like throwing matches onto dry firewood from time to time, but avoiding the flames deliberately. To the US, the more tense the Ukraine situation becomes, the more European countries will depend on the US. Setting up a common enemy among NATO is conducive to uniting allies. Washington is the biggest beneficiary of this dangerous game."
