Putin blames NATO expansion for Ukraine conflict

Shafaq News – Tianjin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Western efforts to bring Ukraine into NATO were among the main causes of the ongoing conflict.

Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan, Putin stated that the crisis began after what he described as a coup in Kyiv in 2014, which he accused the West of instigating. "The second reason for the crisis is the West's constant attempts to draw Ukraine into NATO. As we have repeatedly emphasized, this poses a direct threat to Russia's security.”

Since the 1990s, Russia has opposed NATO’s eastward expansion, viewing Ukraine’s potential accession as the most serious challenge to its security. Moscow warns that NATO military infrastructure in Ukraine would pose a direct threat and considers Kyiv part of its traditional sphere of influence.