DISINFO: NATO’s eastward expansion is a serious security threat to Russia
SUMMARY
Russia sees NATO's eastward expansion as a serious security threat. When Moscow launched a military offensive against Kyiv at the end of February, one of its main demands was that Ukraine formally declare itself a neutral country that would never join any Western military alliance.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about NATO, portraying it as a belligerent organisation.
The claim about NATO "expansion" misrepresents the process of NATO enlargement. NATO does not "expand" but considers the applications of candidate countries that want to join. NATO is a defensive alliance with primary aims to maintain peace and safeguard the independence, security and territorial integrity of its members. NATO constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. NATO's official policy is that "the Alliance does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia."
Ukraine is a sovereign country with its own national interests. It is not controlled by any Western government or organisation. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected by almost the whole world with Russia as the key exception. Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity have been violated by continuous acts of aggression by Russian armed forces since 2014 and culminated in an aggressive attack on a neighbouring country on February 24, 2022.
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