What a clickbait headline.

And Russia killed thousands in Chechnya to prevent NATO expansion.

And Russia killed thousands in Georgia to prevent NATO expension.

And Russia was a victim in WW2.

No it didn't and no it wasn't, it was an attacker who invaded it's neighbours after it cut up Eastern Europe countries together with Germany. This unchallenged lie is the source for the war in Ukraine.

I'm astonished how people in the West have followed Russian propaganda for a hundred years.

NATO expanded because countries that had been invaded in WW2 and before wanted to be secure from Russia, secure from being killed, secure from being raped, secure from being plundered and oppressed.

Complete mischaracterization of what Stoltenberg said.

Russian narrative goes like this: "Do what we want or we attack a neighboring country. Then, now look at what you made us do."

It presupposes:

1. What Russia wants is more important than what small countries want.

2. Small countries near to Russia do not seek NATO membership. NATO just "expands" magically, small countries are not seeking safety from NATO.

3. Colonialism is good when Russia does it. Russian imperialism did not happen.

The proper place for NATO is next to Russian border in all NATO countries. Russia is not made to do anything, it has not right to attack.

Here's the full transcript for those interested in the whole context and not just this cherry picked quote: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_218172.htm

This is the quote from Stoltenberg's speech. It is not misleading. Stoltenberg says it clearly:

"So he went to war to prevent NATO, more NATO, close to his borders"

"The background was that President Putin declared in the autumn of 2021, and actually sent a draft treaty that they wanted NATO to sign, to promise no more NATO enlargement. That was what he sent us. And was a pre-condition for not invade Ukraine. Of course we didn't sign that.

The opposite happened. He wanted us to sign that promise, never to enlarge NATO. He wanted us to remove our military infrastructure in all Allies that have joined NATO since 1997, meaning half of NATO, all the Central and Eastern Europe, we should remove NATO from that part of our Alliance, introducing some kind of B, or second class membership. We rejected that.

So he went to war to prevent NATO, more NATO, close to his borders. He has got the exact opposite"

He's talking about Putin's public justification of the war, and how it backfired.

He can't talk about Putin's internal reasons, because he can't know them.

The article fails to include how the Snowden saga and Russian election meddling was the precursor to the NATO expansion. These are not isolated events.

talking about NATO -expansion- probably is misleading, country need to ask for NATO membership, and under precise conditions and procedures can join.

The first to join after 2000 are baltic republics, because they know well the true situation at the Kremlin: Gorbachew perestroika has passed like a meteor (or like a Iskander), not being really supported by US-EU, apart big political appraisal, URSS collapsed, and next US-EU supported instead Elsin, big fan of free-ultraliberal economics, who next chose (really did it?) Putin, and Putin in the shadow of economics crisis in russia (Eltsin legacy) grab all the power ( politics killing and election frauds, global propaganda) and want to step back at the old soviet politics, pure anachronism.

So Russia invasion of Ukraine has many causes, but not nato (is like talking of waves on the beach, instead of talking of the cyclone up in the sky), even if US end EU clearly are not saints, but who is at there levels? big geopolitics and economics interest are there. But Putin has chosen to not develop russia as a more modern contry but like an old empire, and using big power over all. pure anachronism.

You don't say?