Summary
There hasn't been a good relationship between Russia and NATO since the end of the cold war. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, NATO was formed as a collective security system against the Soviet Union, which became Russia's enemy. Although Russia is concerned and does not want Ukraine to join NATO due to the fact that the border with Russia will be more secure where Russia urban region is situated. In addition to that, Russia wants to protect its border from NATO, which aims to place missiles and biolabs in Ukraine, creating tension between the two countries. Ukraine was denied membership in NATO because they did not meet the membership requirements.
During the 2014 crisis that caused former Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych to resign and Russia to invade Crimea, the West and the U.S. are to blame. In 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine that deliberately destroyed Ukraine that led to a civil war between Russia and Ukraine. There is a possibility that this conflict could escalate into a nuclear war between Russia and NATO, which could lead to a nuclear conflict. Russia will continue to pose a permanent threat to Ukraine if no solution is found to resolve the political tension between those countries.
One reply on “Part 1 U.S and NATO response to Russian aggression”
Makerlie,
I need to correct several points in your blog post. First, relations with the Russian Federation were actually reasonably good for most of the decade of the 1990s, following the end of the Soviet Union. It was only after Vladimir Putin replaced Boris Yeltsin and NATO admitted a number of Eastern European countries that things went downhill.
Second, neither NATO nor the United States has ever had plans to place biolabs in Ukraine. This is pure Russian propaganda and mis-information. Finally, in my view, it is not accurate to suggest, as Mearsheimer does, that the United States and NATO are responsible for the Russian seizure of Crimea and now its invasion of Ukraine. While it probably was a mistake on NATO’s part to engage with Ukraine and Georgia regarding the possibility of membership, Putin was/is attempting to grab more territory and recreate as much of the old Soviet empire as possible. –Professor Wallerstein