The Soviets were military expansionists, aggressively threatening and preparing for conflict with NATO. They were moving nuclear weapons into Cuba. NATO, as I

The Soviets were military expansionists, aggressively threatening and preparing for conflict with NATO. They were moving nuclear weapons into Cuba. NATO, as I pointed out, was trying to make Russia a trade partner even after they invaded Georgia and Ukraine, and to this day most countries can hardly fund their militaries (even though many individually have economies larger than Russia's and could fund larger militaries by themselves). NATO didn't conduct exercises, was very careful about putting forces near Russia's border - even on NATO territor, had no facilities in Ukraine (which has never been a member), and certainly didn't move nuclear weapons anywhere near Russia.