If you look at Russian history they have always tried to keep a buffer between them and potential aggressors and like it or not they see NATO as potential enemy. NATO moved right up to their borders, their reaction was perfectly predictable. I’m not condoning it but it was a very predictable response.
“If you look at Russian history they have always tried to keep a buffer between them and potential aggressors and like it or not they see NATO as potential enemy.”
And if you look further into Russian history, rather than just enough to find one talking point to support your position, then you will see that Russia generally only starts aggressive wars against weaker neighbors, not against strong alliances. So leaving them with “buffer states” instead of a strong alliance on their borders is just guaranteeing that they’ll eventually try to eat those buffer states. Rather than preventing war, this is a recipe for war.