Oddly, wasn't it just the opposite? NATO didn't expand until Putin invaded. Unless you mean the Baltic states and Poland joining NATO caused the invasion --- the excuse often cited. But Ukraine was already in the Russian Orbit when those other States joined NATO. It seems it was Ukraine that decided it no longer wanted to be a Russian Lap Dog. So they kicked out Viktor Yanukovych, the guy whose election victory was engineered by Paul Manafort with help from a Russian disinformation operation. Now Manafort, Trump's "unpaid" political consultant, is coming back to engineer Trump's 2024 election campaign, with, of course, help from yet another Russian disinformation operation. It seems Manafort's not paying taxes on yet another "unpayment" got him into trouble with the IRS. Why didn't Manafort just escape to Russia with Konstantin Kilimnik, his Russian Intelligence business partner, from where he would not be extradited and could have retired to a happy life in a little Dacha hunting wild mushrooms, drinking potato vodka, reading Russian Poetry, and playing the Balalaika?