> Because these formerly Russian-occupied countries want to defend themselves from a future Russian occupation. This explains why such countries would want to

> Because these formerly Russian-occupied countries want to defend themselves from a future Russian occupation. This explains why such countries would want to join NATO, but not why NATO would want to take them in and be committed to defending them from external aggression. Not every country that expresses an intention to join NATO is accepted. Consider that in mid-nineties, Russia, then under the pro-western president Yeltsin rather than the isolationist Putin, asked to be accepted into NATO, but was rejected [0]. So Russia — at least as it complains to the rest of the world — finds itself sitting next to a growing hostile military alliance whose main historical purpose was to confront the USSR, which no longer exists, but which Russia perceives itself to be a successor to. [0] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/31/russia-associate-membership-nato-malcolm-rifkind-chequers-boris-yeltsin https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/31/russia-assoc...