[hyperman1]

Look how the USA freaked out when the USSR placed atomic weapons in Cuba, a sovereign nation over which the USA has nothing to say.

It is understandable that the USSR freaks out in the same way when the USA-led NATO does the same thing with Ukraine.

Not saying with this that the USSR is the good guy in this story, just that the reaction is understandable.

[hyperman1]

Tortstenvl's comment below is flagged, so I can't reply. I object to being called lying. But he is partially right and deserves a response.

I wrote 'does the same thing with Ukraine' and this is imprecise/incorrect. Afaik, no NATO nuclear weapons have been placed there.

But NATO is pretty open on the nuclear topic: they declare themselves a nuclear alliance. Nuclear deterrence and forward deployment of USA nuclear weapons in Europe is a core idea of the organization. If Ukraine joins, the question of forward deployment there is clearly on the table. Apart from that, deployment of standing forces in NATO Ukraine, which can't be unarmed, is basically a given.

NATO was created specifically to threaten the USSR. With Ukraine as a member, that threat literally moves a lot closer. Expecting Russia to just sit there and watch seems incredibly naive.

[ncmncm]

NATO is no threat to Russia. But it is a threat to Putin's power, if he cannot be seen to make it back down. He can only hang onto power so long as he seems powerful.