NATO Expansion to the East and Closer to Russia's Borders

17:28, 23 March 2023

NATO's continued expansion in the years since Russian President Vladimir Putin warned it in 2007 against pushing toward his country's borders has driven Russia to the edge as far as its national and security interests go.

Sputnik

In 1997, ahead of the first wave of expansion, George Kennan, the US diplomat who authored the US’s original containment doctrine at start of the Cold War, dubbed Washington's plans to expand the alliance eastward ‘A Fateful Error’, warning that doing so would ruin the then-friendly ties with Russia and make the world less safe.

However, the alliance did not follow suit, and the expansion continued, absorbing former Soviet republics and moving closer to the Russian borders.

Check out Sputnik's infographic for a broader understanding of the issue.

NATO expansion desk