Did Nato Actually Force Putin To Invade Ukraine?

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By Austin Smith Published

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In todays video Austin Smith and Michael Muir discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, touching on NATO expansion as a perceived threat by Russia. They consider how this has been used as a justification for the invasion, alongside long-term historical factors. While many reasons and factors have been given, none seem to be the singular cause.

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Transcript:

One that I’d love to talk about jumping off of that last point on the nuclear deal in ’94 is NATO expansion.

One of the current talking points is that it was Russia’s perceived threat from a NATO expansion that led to this invasion of Ukraine.

Can you talk a little bit about that and how much credibility do we give that?

Or is that just a current argument that is acting as an armor for these other five contributing factors we just discussed?

Sure.

Well, those five were the long term factors, but that’s always been the case that any even perceived expansion of NATO would be met with force.

That goes way back to Putin’s earliest days, and he’s always been very consistent in his desire to expand Russian influence in Eastern Europe and has always described the collapse of the Soviet Union as geopolitical travesty that he wants to put right.

So I think that expansion of NATO and Ukraine’s possible entry into that alliance is just really kind of a justification for something he’d already planned to do.

Photo of Austin Smith, PhD, MD, CFA
About the Author Austin Smith, PhD, MD, CFA →

Austin Smith is a financial publisher with over two decades of experience as an investor, analyst, and advisor. He covers stocks, ETFs, Artificial intelligence and personal finance for 24/7 Wall St. Previously, he spent over a decade at The Motley Fool as a senior editor for Fool.com, portfolio advisor for Millionacres, and launched The Ascent to help reader take control of their personal finances.

His work has been featured on Fool.com, NPR, CNBC, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, AOL, Marketwatch, and many other publications. He is as an advisor to private companies, and co-hosts The AI Investor Podcast with Eric Bleeker. 

When not looking for investment opportunities, he can be found skiing, running, or playing soccer with his children. Learn more about Austin's investment approach here.

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