War

In 1990 when the Soviet Union collapsed there were 16 members in NATO and today there are 31 countries in NATO. Each time a new member joined it represented a closing in on Russia. At the 2008 Bucharest summit NATO said that Ukraine would eventually become a member. At the 2012 Brussels summit, NATO leaders reiterated the decision taken at the 2008 summit that Ukraine would become a member. Putin immediately announce that Ukrainian membership in NATO would be a "red line" that Moscow would not permit. In 2014 Moscow opposed any eastward expansion of NATO and Putin warned that membership would force Russia to take action. At the June 2021 Brussels summit, NATO leaders reiterated the decision taken at the 2008 Bucharest summit that Ukraine would eventually become a NATO member with the MAP as an integral part of the process, and Ukraine's right to determine its future and foreign policy without outside interference. NATO had for years set a path for Ukraine to join. Many experts now concede that if NATO had agreed that Ukraine would not be invited to join that the war could have been avoided.