Thread by @BonicMichael

@JordisonPhilip @threadreaderapp Every country must, and should, prioritize defense. NATO is primarily a defense against Russia. Russia gets that, but NATO's eastward expansion over DECADES appears to have finally become untenable to Russia. Russia has the right to defend itself against NATO no? The red line for

@JordisonPhilip @threadreaderapp Russia in the NATO-Russia polarity has been NATO's ability to strike Moscow in closer and closer proximity. The NATO defense system in Romania👇could be used as to offensive launch missiles against Russia in a military conflict. THAT IS FACT.

https://twitter.com/BonicMichael/status/1503063888681529345?s=20&t=n4vO1jD0-o9Wt9U8aoBWEQ

@JordisonPhilip @threadreaderapp There's no sweeping this FACT under the rug of "They are purely defensive systems". Russia is acting towards Ukraine the same way the US would/did if Russia parked its missiles in Cuba. Explain how there's any difference. Russia had a choice: Do nothing (which could lead to

@JordisonPhilip @threadreaderapp Ukraine joining NATO, and NATO 'defense systems' parked in Ukraine), or act. Russia chose to proactively protect its national security by forcing the issue w/ Ukraine. I'd say it was a last-resort measure. When a tree is falling on you can't just do nothing, you have to act.

@JordisonPhilip @threadreaderapp I'm not condoning Russia's actions, just trying to understand them. I'd also say that the paranoia of the West obscures the likely fact that Putin has zero intention of triggering Article 5. If Russia is neutralizing Ukraine by force (as long as Zelensky refuses to take the 'off-

@JordisonPhilip @threadreaderapp ramp' by agreeing to those perennial conditions Russia has made over the years) in order that Russia might breathe a sigh of relief b/c it has a buffer zone b/t it and NATO, then the purpose of this whole 'special military operation' is to make Russia MORE SECURE. So Putin hardly

@JordisonPhilip @threadreaderapp has designs to next 'invade' the Baltics, Romania & Poland b/c that implies the conscious choice to trigger Article 5 and get into an all-out war w/ NATO. If Russia wants to be more secure it won't start a war w/ NATO b/c that'd be counterproductive.

https://twitter.com/BonicMichael/status/1503053626222153729?s=20&t=n4vO1jD0-o9Wt9U8aoBWEQ

@JordisonPhilip @threadreaderapp So from Russia's perspective it isn't treading over Poland, Hungary or Estonia's defense agendas at all. NATO is their defense agenda. If you use John Bolton's 'logic', Russia has attacked Ukraine "in the name of self-defense". NATO & the US ignored Russia's concerns for decades.

@JordisonPhilip @threadreaderapp There is no denying that that 'fingerprint' in on this "special military operation" of Russia's. And what makes it all more dangerous is the Wests refusal to acknowledge this about Russia's concerns about NATO expansion. The real madness lies in the view that Putin is on the

@JordisonPhilip @threadreaderapp march toward restoring the Russian Empire you hear every day in the media. That is disconnection from reality, and when governments base policy and actions on perceptions that are disconnected from reality, things can quickly spiral out of control.

@JordisonPhilip @threadreaderapp @threadreaderapp compile