NATO provocations

A list of plenty of evidence on NATO provoking Russia to start a war in Ukraine

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Welcome to the peace initiative for Ukraine in which you can contibute by raising your awareness as well as your consciousness^[+] and spirit to the modes^[+] of neutrality^[*^], decency, respectfulness, wisdom^[*^], objectivity, mastery of the intellect, surrender (ego and mind to God’s will), and finally peace (inner then outer). To properly grasp everything, we recommend reading the articles of this peace initiative in the order that we^[*^] designed it, which is listed in the CONTENTS. So if you haven’t read the previous articles, we urge you to do it, please. With this article we continue the “Meeting the Demands for Ending the War” segment with a focus on Why should Ukraine guarantee that it would not join NATO?

Before we list many pieces of evidence of NATO provocations, let us briefly explain why did NATO provoke Russian attack:

➡    Russia has been main NATO enemy since the Cold War, which never really ended, especially because Russia (with China) has been ruining many NATO efforts of regime change across the world in their globalist, neocolonialist agenda of total world domination. For instance, Russia thwarted NATO plans to expand to Ukraine and Georgia, to change the regime in Syria, and to exploit and plunder natural resources of many African, Latin American, Middle Eastern nations bullied by NATO. NATO wanted to control the Black Sea region, which is a major trade route, for which they needed Ukraine and Georgia to join the alliance, as well as to control the Crimea but Russia hindered it all. Therefore, to retake Crimea and get Ukraine and Georgia to join the alliance, NATO has prepped Ukraine to attack and kill Russians ever since 2014, for which we provide below plenty evidence as it is no secret^[+] anyway. But because modern wars are fought not just on the battlefields but also in the minds of supporters and enemies, NATO didn’t want their puppet Kyiv regime¹ to strike first, as they needed “a Russian invasion” as a proof of “evil wannabe emperor Putin” to garner a world's support and condemnation of Putin and Russia, so that they could demand the world to sanction Russia and provide weapons and other aid to Ukraine.

➡    One of major obstacles to realize the NATO agenda of Black Sea domination and weakening Russia was the fact that the vast majority of Ukrainians, over 80%^[+] of them did not want to join NATO before 2014, as they favored Russia over NATO. This is due to over 8 million^[+] ethnic Russians living in Ukraine and 6 more millions speaking Russian as their native language (30%^[+] of Ukrainians – 14,3 million people declared Russian as their native language in the last national census) but also because of Ukraine's strong historical, cultural, religious, social, and economic ties with Russia. All polls^[+] showed the public disapproval, which is why NATO needed to change the public opinion by provoking Russia to invade Ukraine. Without it, Ukrainians would never agree to join NATO and let NATO (American) troops to occupy Crimea where mostly ethnic Russians live. The plan worked, as the subsequent polls showed a spike in support for joining NATO, which is also due to the fact that they did not poll “occupied” regions where most of the people opposing NATO live. Therefore, there was no opposition when Zelensky applied to join NATO after Russia annexed for new regions after local referendums.

➡    Another major obstacles to realize the NATO agenda of Black Sea and world domination was their rivals such as Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and some other nations. By weakening or containing Russia, NATO would have achieved their agenda, as other rivals depended on Russia's support.

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So, here are NATO provocations (in chronological order):

➡    NATO’s relentless eastward expansion^[+] despite explicit promises by every 1990 Western leader (Baker, Bush, Genscher, Kohl, Gates, Mitterrand, Thatcher, Hurd, Major, Woerner…^{[+][+][+pg.6]}) that such expansion would never occur if Russia accepted German reunification, withdrew its troops from Eastern Europe, and dissolved the Warsaw Pact. Russia honored its part of the deal while NATO violated it and so broke mutual trust and cooperation as well as destabilized the security situation in Europe

• in 1999, NATO expanded to the Russian borders with Poland becoming a member of the military alliance despite the promises. Poland and Russia’s exclave Kaliningrad share a 232 km (144 mi) long border

• in 2004, NATO expanded to the Russian borders with Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia becoming members of the military alliance despite the promises.

➡    NATO’s encirclement of Russia^[+] – How would the US or any other NATO state feel and react if Russia or/and China did the same to them, if they encircled them with hostile military bases full of weapons and troops? For comparison, just a few incidents with nothing but mere mystery balloons and reconnaissance drones (suspected foreign spying or surveillance) has already got the US^[+] and Sweden^[+][»] in such a panic mode as if facing an existential crisis resorting to some anxious counter-measures! What if the Russians came fully loaded to their borders? Russians compare it to the Cuban missile crisis in 1962^[+] when American deployments of missiles in Italy and Turkey were matched by Soviet deployments of similar ballistic missiles in Cuba – just as the US panicked having nuclear missiles off the Florida coast just minutes away from Washington, so was Moscow’s reaction being faced with the prospect of having NATO’s offensive strike missiles in Ukraine and other countries across their borders. No one called JFK paranoid about the threat of Russian missiles in Cuba whereas Putin, on the other hand, is ridiculed for being threatened by the American navy and missiles nearby.

American military bases all around Russia

➡    NATO's recognition of Kosovo's independence in February 2008 (taking Kosovo from Serbia, infringing on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia), provoked Russia to recognize Ukraine's republics that also claimed independence and suffered humanitarian crises, such as Crimea, Donetsk People's Republic, and the Luhansk People's Republic in 2014

➡    in 2008, NATO officially opened door for Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO^[+] agreeing that they will become members of NATO, which was well known at the time to be “crossing a red line” with Russia – this was like a red rag to a bull or poking a bear, a total provocation. Putin said^[+] that the West provoked the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine by luring Kyiv with the prospect of NATO membership in 2008, which drastically changed the security situation on the continent. Washington (George W. Bush administration) provoked the conflict when during 2008 NATO Summit in Bucharest the US-led NATO promised^[»] Ukraine to accept its application to join NATO. A couple of months earlier in 2008, in anticipation of that, Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov warned the CIA head that this would trigger a civil war in Ukraine and that Russia would have to intervene militarily ("take appropriate measures") so, NATO knew it and did it anyway as a clear provocation (thanks to Wikileaks, we have now cables proving that^[+]). Lavrov warned that NATO's promise to take in Ukraine and Georgia engendered serious concerns about the consequences for stability in the region, which was NATO's violation of the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation^[+], under which the alliance pledged to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation as well as committed to building a stable, peaceful, and undivided Europe.

➡    NATO's offensives destabilized the security situation in Europe posing a threat to Russia – by bombarding other countries that are insubordinate to the US or Western agenda like Russia. Among many other, NATO bombarded former Yugoslavia in 2000 and some countries across NATO borders like Libya and Syria.

➡    NATO orchestrated and funded regime changes in Russia (2011-2013^[+], 2017/2018^[+], 2019^[+], 2021^[+]) and Eastern Europe, including countries across Russia’s borders, toppling pro-Russian governments with violent US-funded, CIA-staged^[+] coups or color revolutions^[+], despite pledging^[+] in 1997 to “strengthen mutual trust and cooperation” and committing to “building a stable, peaceful, and undivided Europe”. These include regime change in Serbia in 2000, the Rose Revolution^[+] in Georgia in 2003, the Tulip Revolution^[+][+][+][+] in Kyrgyzstan in 2005, in Ukraine Orange Revolution^[*^][+] in 2004/2005 and Maidan Revolution^[+] in 2013/2014, Velvet Revolution^[+] in Armenia in 2018, in Romania in 2017-2019^[+], in Bulgaria in 2013^[+] and 2020/2021^[+], as well as failed attempts, besides in Russia, also in Belarus in 2005^[+], 2006^[+], 2011^[+], 2017^[+], and 2020/2021^[+][+], Moldova in 2005^[+] and 2009^[+], Hungary in 2006^[+], 2011^[+], 2014^[+], 2018^[+], and 2024^[»], Turkey in 2016^[+] and 2023^[+][+], Kazakhstan in 2022^[+], Georgia in 2023^[+], and Serbia in 2023^[+][+]. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, millions of Russians living in former Soviet Republics found themselves living in foreign countries and being absorbed by the Western powers imposing Western socio-political system, ultraliberal values, and discriminating against the Russians, as well as killing and terrorizing them.

➡    US and EU involvement in the 2013/2014 protests and revolution^[*^][*^] that forcefully deposed Ukraine’s democratically elected President of Russian ethnicity and installed a US puppet anti-Russian regime that has been very hostile to Russian ethnic minorities, banning their language, repressing, terrorizing, and killing them

Since 2013, NATO has been arming Ukraine first to stage a coup to overthrow a pro-Russian government and then to kill Russians living in Ukraine, therefore in 2014, Russia felt compelled to protect its interests (Russian navy fleet) and folk in Crimea by legally and peacefully annexing Crimea as requested by Crimeans through a democratic referendum whereby Crimeans exercised their right to self-determination as enshrined in the UN Charter.

➡    Ukraine has increasingly come to host NATO military infrastructure^[+], including a military base^[+] that frequently hosted NATO troops, plans^[+] for NATO-linked naval bases, a surge^[+] in military aid ― including, as of 2017, offensive weapons ― training programs^[+], an updated Charter on Strategic Partnership^[+] that deepened its security co-operation with Washington, as well as heightened security co-operation with NATO more generally^[+]. The US presence in the region has also intensified, leading to thousands of incidents^[+] between NATO and Russian forces and “envelope-pushing missions”^[+] involving Ukraine that drew Russian objections, and which some experts feared had “become too provocative.” 

➡    from 2014–2021, NATO has been training and providing weapons to Ukraine for the sole purpose of fighting and killing the Russians, which was a major NATO provocation. In 2014, Ukraine became a de facto member of NATO when NATO started to provide Ukraine with funds, weapons, and military training, which destroyed mutual trust and cooperation as well as damaged stability and peace in Europe. Here are just a few of the many pieces of evidence:

• on 3 April 2014, speaking to CNN’s Dana Bash^[+][+], NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg admitted that the US, UK, and Canada have been training Ukrainian troops “for years”: “NATO allies have supported Ukraine for many, many years,” and then clarified that “NATO allies like the United States, but also the United Kingdom and Canada and some others, have trained Ukrainian troops for years”

• from 2014 to March 2022, the United States provided more than $34.9 billion^[+] “in security assistance for training and equipment to help Ukraine preserve its territorial integrity, secure its borders, and improve interoperability with NATO”

• in December 2016, a video^[»] showing Americans militarizing and prepping Ukraine to fight Russia, featuring US Senators Lindsey Graham, John McCain and Amy Klobuchar giving a pep talk to soldiers in Ukraine, preparing for a proxy war with Russia. Militarizing Ukraine to kill Russians is certainly an offensive provocation. Lindsey Graham said "Your fight is our fight."

• at the June 2021 Brussels summit^[+], NATO leaders reiterated the decision taken at the 2008 Bucharest summit that Ukraine would eventually become a NATO member with the MAP as an integral part of the process.

• in March 2022, Yahoo News reported^[+] that CIA paramilitaries have been active in Ukraine, training forces to “kill Russians”^[+], since immediately after the 2014 US-backed coup^[+] that overthrew Kyiv’s democratically elected government and installed a pro-Western regime

• a leaked document^[ꚛ][+] from the Danish embassy in Kyiv dated 21 May 2021, revealing the presence of NATO military instructors from Denmark and the United Kingdom in Ukraine, where the neo-Nazi Azov battalion's main base was located. This is evidence of Ukraine's intensive preparations for active combat operations under NATO's supervision. They were killing ethnic Russians at the time and preparing to fight Russia to retake Crimea

• there's heaps of evidence^[+] that the US and UK actively sabotaged peace between Ukraine and Russia in the early days of Russian SMO², and that the US alliance wants this war to continue in order to weaken Russia (drain its military resources)

• on 12 July 2023, at a news conference during the NATO summit in Vilnius, then-UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace gave away^[»] that the UK and some other NATO states had been building up Ukraine's military capabilities before the start of the conflict in February 2022: "Also, before this invasion, Britain with Sweden, Canada, the United States were investing in Ukraine and building their capabilities". What for? For Ukraine joining NATO despite Russian objections (as this anti-Russian military bloc poses a threat to Russian security), for killing Russian ethnic minorities in Donbas, and for plans to go on an offensive to retake Crimea

➡    US installation of sophisticated weapons systems and military bases in the new NATO countries bordering Russia, including Poland, the Baltic states, and Romania, as well as Ukraine, which was all meant against Russia. Since 2014, NATO has deployed additionally more than 4.500 troops to states on Russian borders. On 4 February 2022 (20 days before Russia launched its SMO in Ukraine), the US sent its new troops – 3.000 soldiers^[+] – to NATO states on Russian borders and Germany even though Russia had not threatened any NATO states in any way. This was clearly not meant to defend NATO as there was never any imminent threat to any NATO member but an utter provocation, intimidation, and threat to Russia's security. The US and NATO as a whole violated the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation^[+], under which the alliance pledged not to do "additional permanent stationing of substantial combat forces" in new member states since 1997.

➡    on 12 May 2016, the US activated^[+] missile system in Romania, angering Russia. The US claimed it was purely defensive, but Moscow said^[+] the system could also be used offensively and could deliver a strike on the Russian capital in 10 minutes

By deploying both long-range ballistic missiles^[+] and nuclear weapons^[+] in Europe, NATO posed a threat to Russia's security provoking Russia to reciprocate. By militarizing and provocatively demonstrating its military power, placing a significant part of the armament near Russia’s borders, NATO intimidates Russia and threatens its security despite pledging in 1997 to “strengthen mutual trust and cooperation” and committing to “building a stable, peaceful, and undivided Europe”.

➡    on 6 June 2016, symbolically on the anniversary of the Normandy invasion, NATO launched aggressive exercises against Russia. It began war games with 31.000 troops near Russia’s borders, the largest exercise in Eastern Europe since the Cold War ended. For the first time in 75 years, German troops retraced the steps of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union across Poland

➡    in the July 2016 NATO Summit in Warsaw, NATO leaders pledged to increase alliance presence in the region^[+] and so violated a key part of the Russia-NATO Founding Act^[+], where NATO pledged not to move its military infrastructure on the territory of new members.

➡    in February 2017, the NATO Defense Ministerial Meeting^[+] approved a maritime coordination function between NATO Standing Naval Forces and NATO allies in the Black Sea region to enhance cooperation and bolster NATO’s presence in the Black Sea region with the increased military presence of the United States in Europe.

➡    Provocative NATO military exercises^[+], such as in the Black Sea^{[+][+][+][+][+]}, annual Operation Atlantic Resolve^[+] in Eastern Europe, and Spring Storm drills every year in Estonia^[+][+][+], Anaconda Polish-led military exercises^[+] in 2016, the Iron Spear military exercise in Latvia^[+] in October 2019, and many other

➡    in August 2020, the Americans continued to mobilize military forces near the borders of Russia^[+]. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak signed an agreement that allowed the Pentagon to deploy an additional 1.000 troops to Poland.

➡    The Biden administration’s 2021 treatment of Ukraine as a de facto member of NATO. In December 2021, three months before this war broke out, US President Joe Biden assured Ukrainian President Zelensky that NATO membership was in Ukraine's hands^[+]. This surely provoked a reaction from NATO's enemy Russia

➡    20 September 2021 – US and NATO held military drills with Ukraine^[+]

➡    in early December 2021, it was reported^[+][+] that the NATO-backed Armed Forces of Ukraine deployed 125.000 troops against the Russian ethnic minorities at the borders of Donbas close to Russia’s border. A massive buildup and activity of NATO-funded forces inside Ukraine were crossing Russia's red line^[+], just as the US would feel the same if Russia did the same in Cuba. Wonder how Americans would feel if Russians had trained and militarized the Cubans to fight Americans!

➡    in December 2021, NATO and the US rejected treaties with Russia. In light of all the threatening activity on its border, on 17 December 2021, President Putin presented two treaties to be signed, one with the US^[+] and the other with NATO^[+], the essence of which is that the West pledges not to threaten Russia's borders by offering membership to Ukraine or by arming and placing missiles in Ukraine, as well as the removal of the Romanian missile system and the withdrawal of NATO troop deployments from Eastern Europe. Putin stated, "You are on our doorstep. We cannot back down." Putin promised a “technical-military” response if the NATO powers did not stop their offensive actions. NATO General Secretary Stoltenberg rejected them out of hand, which was a major provocation!

➡ on 4 February 2022 (20 days before Russia launched its SMO in Ukraine), the US sent its troops – 3.000 new soldiers^[+] and by 18 February 6.000 American service members^[+] – to NATO states on Russian borders and Germany even though Russia had not threatened any NATO states in any way. This was clearly not meant to defend NATO as there was never any imminent threat to any NATO member but an utter intimidation and threat to Russia's security.

The US and NATO as a whole thereby again violated the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation^[+], under which the alliance pledged not to do "additional permanent stationing of substantial combat forces" in new member states since 1997. On 19 February 2022 at the Munich Security Conference (before Putin sent troops to Ukraine), US Vice President said^[+]: “We have deployed an additional 6.000 American service members to Romania, Poland, and Germany.” What for? Against Russia, of course, and against the Founding Act. Also, NATO claimed that in 2016, it has deployed an additional substantial number of more than 4.500 troops to states on Russian borders – Baltic states and Poland. Deploying the US and NATO troops in countries on Russian borders is as unacceptable as if Russia or China deployed their troops off the Florida coast, in Cuba, Venezuela, and Mexico, for instance. What would the US do if Russia or China deployed thousands of their permanent or rotational troops in countries on their borders? The US should follow the Golden Rule^[+] of not doing to others that which they do not wish to be done to them! The US should have learned from history – the Cuban missile crisis^[+] in 1962. Russia claims that NATO military exercises such as in the Black Sea^{[+][+][+][+][+]}, annual Operation Atlantic Resolve^[+] in Eastern Europe, and Spring Storm drills every year in Estonia^[+][+][+] also violate a key part of the Russia-NATO Founding Act, as NATO pledged not to move its military infrastructure on the territory of new members. Also, NATO pledged to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation as well as committed to building a stable, peaceful, and undivided Europe but since 2014, it has broken those commitments by arming Ukraine to kill Russians living in Donbas. NATO supported (trained, armed, and funded) militants in eastern Ukraine who had been killing the Russians there since 2014. Russia, on the other hand, honored the Russia-NATO Founding Act by not threatening or using force against any NATO member. NATO claims that the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 was a violation of that Act, using it as an excuse to subsequently further break its own pledges. With a peaceful annexation of Crimea, after Crimeans (mostly ethnic Russians) declared independence from Ukraine (after the new unelected, US-appointed Kyiv regime banned the use of the Russian language), Russia prevented a war there, which was in line with the Act's commitment to build a stable, peaceful, and undivided Europe.

➡    Putin claimed^[+] on 24 February 2022 that the West ‘forced’ him to invade Ukraine by rejecting security demands. Putin said the military action was a “forced measure” that stemmed from rising security risks for Russia.

➡    in March-April 2022, NATO leaders sabotaged a peace agreement, as Russia and Ukraine agreed on a framework agreement that would end the war, including Ukraine pledging not to join NATO. The US and UK leaders intruded and pressed Ukraine to cancel the peace agreement and fight Russia

➡    on 26 March 2022, in a speech in Warsaw, Biden confirmed^[+] that the US was seeking to overthrow the Putin government through its proxy war against Russia.

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That NATO provoked Russia to start its SMO is confirmed by many renowned people:

➡    Many Western politicians, scholars and political scientists, such as John Mearsheimer^[»][»] (American political scientist and international relations scholar, Professor at the University of Chicago), claim^[+] that the reckless expansion of NATO provoked Russia.

➡    Donald Trump said^[»] in June 2024 interview that the war was provoked by NATO and Biden, that it started because of NATO expansion and he blamed Biden for publicly saying that Ukraine will go into NATO.

➡    British politicians confirmed NATO provocations:

• Former UK's leader of the Opposition and leader of the UK's Labour Party (2015-2020), Jeremy Corbyn^[+] blames NATO, not the Kremlin, for the Ukraine crisis^[+][+] On 18 February 2022, alongside 11 Labour MPs, he cosigned a statement^[+] calling NATO to halt its eastward expansion and opposing the British government's sending of arms to Ukraine and troops to eastern Europe, which they see only inflaming tensions and indicating disdain for Russia’s security concerns. The statement's authors also said that they "refute the idea that NATO is a defensive alliance".

• Leader of a right-wing populist political party Reform UK, Nigel Farage also said^[»] NATO expansion provoked the war.

➡    “The US wanting to make Ukraine a NATO member was a serious mistake and led to the current conflict” – former US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal^[+].

➡    On 9 July 2022, Mairead Maguire, Irish Nobel Peace Prize Winner, stated^[+]: “This relentless eastward expansion of NATO during the past decade has been an existential threat to a nuclear-armed Russia and the main cause of the present military conflict in Ukraine. …sending arms into Ukraine only adds fuel to the fire.”

➡    "NATO's expansion has provoked tensions with Russia, endangering peace in Europe." – Gregor Gysi (German attorney, former president of the Party of the European Left)

➡    Even the Pope said the war was provoked. In an interview^[+][+] with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, pope said that NATO may have “perhaps facilitated” the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine by “barking at Russia’s door”. Also, in another interview published in June 2022^[+][+][+], Pope Francis said Russia’s war in Ukraine was “perhaps somehow either provoked or not prevented (questa guerra, che è stata forse in qualche modo o provocata o non impedita)”. Many Global Majority^[+] countries blame US/NATO for the Ukraine war, not Russia^[+].

➡    US Judge Napolitano and Col. Scott Ritter: How NATO caused the Ukraine War^[»].

➡    Countless renowned news media outlets reported how NATO provoked this war, which we won't list here but just mention a random article such as from Responsible Statecraft^[+]: NATO expansion and the origins of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – Despite available evidence, many in Washington try to downplay the Atlantic Alliance’s push eastward as a driving force for Putin’s war.

Thank you for reading this article and participating in this peace initiative by raising your awareness and, hopefully, your consciousness and spirit. To properly grasp everything, we^[*^] recommend reading the articles of this peace initiative for Ukraine in the proper order, which is listed in the Contents. So if you haven’t read the previous articles, we recommend that you do. When you are ready, please proceed to the next article in this “Meeting the Demands for Ending the War” segment: “Why should Ukraine guarantee that it would not join NATO?” in which we provide evidence that NATO Is NOT Just a Defensive Alliance

1. we refer to Kyiv as a regime^[+] due to its oppressive and repressive policies, corruption, and foul treatment of its ethnic minorities, such as the ethnic Russians, violating their human rights, tyrannizing, and killing them since 2014.

2. SMO = special military operation