At risk of sounding like a neocon, I tend to agree with you on this. I don’t understand the whole “NATO scared us into conquering more territory” argument by Russia. I mean, did Europe scare Hitler into taking it over in the late 30s?
Maybe my understanding isn’t nuanced enough.
Notice that the NATO member Finland escapes Russian concern.
Maybe my understanding isn’t nuanced enough.
The Russian logic is that upon introduction to NATO Ukraine would then host foreign militaries (read: US) and be able to put weapons on Moscow’s doorstep. The Russians oppose this with the same logic that the U.S. opposed Soviet weapons being posted on our doorstep in Cuba.
The neocons deliberately maneuvered the Russians into firing the first shot, and they’ve obliged. Now the neocons will proclaim the horrors of the invasion their quest for NATO expansion deliberately provoked (decades of commentary from diplomats from many nations, including our own, understood that Russia would view Ukrainian ascension to NATO as a hostile act), and respond accordingly.
Putin told NATO/EU that war would happen if Ukraine joined NATO or the EU.
NATO/EU decided it was worth fighting a war to continue to expand its influence over Ukraine. After all it wouldn’t be NATO/EU citizens/soldiers dying so just Ukes and Ruskies.
Right or wrong. Doesn’t matter much now.
As late as 2008 there was an opportunity for creative bi-lateral security agreements to avoid war, but NATO/EU were uninterested in considering anything but war with Russia.