Sorry. I should have been more specific. NATO’s eastward expansion is what I was referring to as being provocative to Russia. The United States went crazy over information that the Soviet Union was putting missives in Cuba. Yet we expect Russia to remain indifferent as NATO expands eastward.
That does NOT mean Putin was justified when he invaded Ukraine. Putin overreacted. That makes him a war criminal.
As I noted earlier, there are no good guys here.
The Ukrainians are not only good guys but the greatest of guys. They have stood up, fought unbelievably well, and have sacrificed much to liberate such places as Kherson.
NATO was zero threat to Russia. It was oriented defensively. Russia’s behavior even caused Sweden to drop its long-cherished neutrality and clamor for joining the defensive alliance.