Putin and company bloviate at length about how NATO was getting stronger and establishing more forward, permanent positions in the region in recent years.
They conveniently forget that they did that because Russia invaded and occupied Crimea.
Russia took Crimea and all the Putin bootlickers, including the ones here, regurgitate the Kremlin party line that Nato was the one becoming more threatening. Even Putin himself has said and continues to say that Ukraine has always been part of Russia so one reason is as good as another. He is going to correct that historical mistake. In fact, Putin is prepared to go country by country all the way to Spain, Sweden, Finland and fifteen or more other countries to explain why they are actually part of Russia. And another fifteencountries in the other direction Central Asia and Japanese islands and on and on. Putin is about as good a historian as he is a military strategist.