Ukraine

During the Clinton administration the idea of advancing NATO eastward in Europe was discussed. Some like George Kennan and Bill Perry, Secretary of Defense, were opposed but were over ruled by Clinton and Secretary of State Holbrooke. In 1999 NATO countries were joined by Chechia, Hungary and Poland. Then in 2004 Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia joined NATO. At the 2008 Bucharest Summit opportunities to join were open to Croatia, Albania, Greece, Georgia and Ukraine. Sarkozy of France and Merkel of Germany opposed entry of Ukraine into NATO; Former German chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday defended her 2008 decision to block Ukraine from immediately joining NATO, rejecting President Volodymyr Zelensky's criticism as Russia's invasion clouds her 16-year legacy. Just prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin warned of the danger. He expressed concern that NATO could eventually use the Ukrainian territory to deploy missiles capable of reaching Moscow in just five minutes. “The emergence of such threats represents a 'red line' for us,” Putin said.Nov 30, 2021 Why the West wanted to continue the push of NATO Eastward is now under discussion and questioning the purpose. Would missiles be placed in Ukraine. Currently the US has missiles in England, Germany, France, Turkey, Netherlands, Greece and Belgium. The US has tactical nuclear weapons in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Turkey. Did Putin have a legitimate reason to be concerned is the question.