This was especially true once Vladimir Putin became president on New Year’s Eve 1999.
[...]
A ruler who referred to the demise of the Soviet Union as “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century” set about restoring what he believed was Russia’s rightful place in the global balance of military power.
[...]
So, as the Obama administration was going out of its way to “reset” US relations with Russia, Putin was pouring money into the construction of an arsenal of technologically sophisticated weapons: long-range missiles and rockets, highly capable special operations forces, advanced air defenses, electronic warfare, cyber weapons, lasers to blind satellites, missiles to shoot them down, and tactical nuclear weapons.
[...]
All of this military modernization had one explicit purpose: to render the United States incapable of projecting military power into Europe and defending its NATO allies, especially the many parts of Europe that Putin still believed should be part of a greater Russia.
ukdefencejournal.org.ukhttps://ukdefencejournal.org.uk › putin-considered-joining-nato
If Putin is telling the truth the US refused Russia as a partner in Nato.
From what I hear, that’s true.
Meanwhile, the US was supporting the development of Russian oligarchs who robbed the country blind. US through the guise of NATO was moving offensive forces ever closer to Russia’s borders. The US was funding bio-weapon labs in the Ukraine. And then the Democrats falsely accused the Russians for Hillary Clinton’s devastating loss in the 2016 election — and continued the lies about Russian involvement for 4 long years.
But everything is Putin’s fault. How convenient!