NATO expansion was a provocation. After the Cold War ended, the original rationale for the alliance—containing the Soviet Union—no longer applied. So expanding Eastern was an aggressive move to exploit a weakened Russia as Kissinger quite honestly explained in the PBS interview.

From Russia’s perspective, this expansion was a threat. It’s faced multiple invasions from the West —Napoleon, the Nazis—it was clear that Russian leaders would view NATO’s movement toward its borders, the deployment of missile defense systems in Eastern Europe, and Western support for the ousting of allied governments as existential threats.

Their reaction is rooted in history and security logic.