[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.