I don't have a strong historical understanding, but what little research I did do does point to nato being out of line for a few decades prior to the Ukraine thing. Is that controversial to say?
Discussion
I'm not sure where a land invasion, following a military annexion and a faux referendum, is considered an appropriate response to people being "out of line".
I thought Europeans don't send tanks and fighter jets over each other's borders, anymore, but Russia has now taught us, otherwise. 😏
My whole knowledge of the situation is a couple decent videos I watched when shit started hitting the fan. So, again (as people often get heated when it comes to politics), I'm not claiming deep knowledge here.
What stood out most to me, main takeaway that seems hard to argue with, was what seemed an objective timeline of NATO breaching agreements time after time by spreading closer. The other was the US-staged coup in 2014 in Ukraine.
That they feel seriously threatened seemed reasonable to me. Appropriate response is another thing, and I don't know enough about what efforts they made leading to attacking Ukraine, but surely plenty of noise.
That's as concise and accurate as I can manage, in my sleep deprived current state, of where I'm at on the bare bones of the situation.