@anneapplebaum "Of course whether or not we believe that NATO poses an objective threat, Russia might nonetheless feel threatened. "
#Russia is absolutely not afraid of NATO invading/ attacking it. Putin was never afraid of that and he isn't afraid of it even now. When he proclaims that NATO is a threat to Russia what he means is that it's a shield against expanding Russia's sphere of domination to the area Putin feels entitled to. Sweden and Finland were never really in that area which is why he doesn't particularly care whethere they join NATO or not. But #Ukraine is a **completely** different story. The "security" guarantee he wants is a guarantee to do whatever he wants in Eastern Europe, Ukraine most of all. This should never be granted in any shape or form.