“Like it or not, every major power gets extremely touchy about others intruding into what it perceives as its back yard.”
And, of all nations, Russia has some of the most serious reasons to be concerned about such encroachments. Starting in the beginning of the 18th century with an invasion by Charles XII of Sweden, Russia has been invaded a total of three times by foreign powers, the three most recent being Napoleon, WW I, and Hitler. That means the Russians have very good reasons not to want the United States colonizing Ukraine by making it a part of NATO. If its NATO application is accepted, we can expect mutual nuclear annihilation.
Exactly.
What was so awful about Ukraine and Belarus being buffer states between NATO and Russia that we just HAD to upset the apple cart?