Extend NATO right up to Russia's own damn doorstep. Put missile bases in Ukraine and Estonia. **** the Russians.
Pushing Ukraine too fast could damage relations inside of it, and could backfire with the Russians taking over. Treat Ukraine like a neutral country for now, until it's political problems resolve themselves. (Another Yushenko win with a full sweepout of the Yaknovuche and pro-Russia parties would suffice)
Extend NATO right up to Russia's own damn doorstep. Put missile bases in Ukraine and Estonia. **** the Russians.==
Putin understand your plan. So Russia began her own plan of counter-balance just to build new type of missiles the "country busters" - one per NATO country and name it the "Warsaw", "Tallin" and so on. Each missile carries 100MT(!) warhead. Russia has that technology, just recall the Khruschev "kuskina" mother.
100MT explosion will surely just wipe clean off whole small country. And what is important to build just the missile is much cheaper then to build the missile base. So Russia will counter-balance NATO cheaply.
SO Putin will just make NATO ridicluous because absolutely impossible for those countries to survive at any conflict with Russia. They will be sure "sheeps for slaughter". Hence the those countries will understand that thier security under NATO will be equal to nil. Hence the sense of NATO will be destroyed.
Then I presume Putin may just tell those countries: "Quit NATO and we desmantle this "country buster" dedicated to your country". Interesting what they will do then?