By Lateef Adeegbite
Between 1992 and now, past and present Leadership of Russia Federation have watched over the North American country of the United States, US, and other leading member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO, advancing to take over Eastern Europe.
The Russian government may have become unsettled since the end of the cold war between the USSR and the US, when seven Eastern European countries joined NATO, at the instance , of Late George Bush , a one-time American President in the early ‘20s at a well publicised ceremony in Washing DC to make mockery of the Kremilin.
They were Bulgaria,Romania,Slovakia, Slovenia and three other former Republics of the old Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR, which included Estonia,Latvia and Lithuania. But NATO has its agenda. In 2008, it had announced that it may consider membership of Ukraine, another soviet Republic , where the old USSR , had its Nuclear war heads, that had been under the control of Russia Federation, by the United Nations, UN, during the sharing of its Assets and Liabilities between the 15 Republics which Putin did not find funny.
The NATO, Leadership may have seen ‘’little prospect of this coming about any time soon’’ when 70 year-old Vladimir Putin, who had served 15 years as a Foreign Intelligence Officer for the KGB, and also as a member of the Committee for State Security, emerged in Russia corridor of power in the late ‘.90s.
Putin may have ha at the back of his mind stories of how the US, had raised $400 million in military and economic aid for the European countries of Greece and Turkey in the late ‘40s at the end of the World War II, to free the two European countries being threatened by Russian backed Communists.
The Russian President who may have read some Intelligence and security reports on the incident at the Island of Cuba, where the US, had maintained the closest Surveillance of the old Soviet military build in the Island . The argument of Late John. F. Kennedy, the then US, President, in 1962, in a televised message to the people was that that allowing the offensive missile to be installed on the Cuban Island site at the instance of late Fidel Castro, the then Cuban President , it would be easy for the the defunct Soviet Union, to Launch Nuclear Strikes against the Western Hemisphere.
This may have informed why the Soviet former KGB , Chief , and now President of Russian Federation, had put a close tab on NATO, from paving the way for Ukraine , to join the Organisation. The aggrieved Russian President may have been encouraged to start massing troops on Ukraine borders border late 2021, due to the flurry of activities.
In announcing ‘’the special military Operations’’ against Ukraine, on the heels of the Kremlin decision to recognise the Donetsk People’s and Luthansk People’s Republics, on February 21, 2022, and the signing of mutual cooperation and agreements between Russian and the two breakaway regions, Putin had said that the attack on Ukraine became necessary because of what is happening in ‘’the Donbas and the key issue of securing Russian security’’.
According to him, what had caused ‘’the government much concern that had led to the attack on Ukraine was ‘’the Fundamental threats against Russia year after year, step by step, by those, he had described as ‘’irresponsible politicians in the West who had offensively and unceremoniously embarked on the expansion of NATO Operations to Eastern Europe by moving ‘’its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders’’.
An agitated Putin had said that between 1992 and now, Russian government had tried ‘’to reach a working agreement with the US, United Kingdom, UK, and other leading NATO member countries on the‘’principles of equal and inviolable security in Europe but had constantly’’ faced deception, lies, attempts to pressure and blackmail’’.
The Russian strong man , who could not hide his feelings had said that despite all protests and concerns expressed by the Kremlin ,NATO had continued’ ‘to steadily expand’’, by moving their war machine close to Russian borders and which must be stopped.
He had cited the bloody military Operation of NATO against Belgrade , using fighter aircrafts and offensive missiles in the center of Europe without any approval from the United Nations, UN, Security Council. He had revealed that NATO carried out several weeks of continuous bombing of cities and Critical Infrastructure in the country but the UN failed to speak out.
An aggrieved Russian President was said to have also given instance of the use of military force by NATO to attack Iraq, Libya and Syria, leading to the complete destruction of the countries, which has become a major’’ hotbed of international terrorism. A humanitarian catastrophe and evil war that has not ended to this day’’ .He had said that all the promises that were made to the to Russia government by the NATO Leadership not ‘’to expand even an inch t east Europe were never kept.
He admitted that even after the collapse of the USSR and the loss of a significant of capacity, Russian still remains one of the most ‘’powerful Nuclear powers in the world and possesses certain advantages in some of the newest types of weaponry’’. This may have informed why he had sad that any attack by NATO on Russia will lead ‘’to defeat and horrible consequences’’.
Already , he has made it clear to the US and its allies that their so called’’ policy of Containment of Russian’’ that was similar to Truman Doctrine of 1947 to contain Communism in Western Europe would not work, stressing that ‘’ it has become a matter of life and death for Russians to defend their territory and historical future as a people’’. He had repeatedly said that NATO, has crossed ‘’the red line and will pay for it’’.
Given the Russian Special military Operation in Ukraine, Putin appears to have prepared the minds of Russians and its allies in the east that the clash with NATO Forces is inevitable, which military analysts had said may lead to the WWIII.
In spite of the fact that west have acquired Nuclear weapons , Putin may have sent a message to the US and its western allies that they will not allow Russian to be used as a testing ground for their weaponry. ‘’ It will never happen’’, Putin maintains.
