One consequence of Russia invading Ukraine is that Finland and Sweden joined Nato. Finland has a 1,340 km border with Russia, so Putin has not created a “bigger buffer” - he has managed to double Russia’s border with Nato.
Also, the countries you label as unfriendly are peaceful countries who are only ‘unfriendly’ to Russia because they worry about Russian imperialist expansion, and Russia’s aggression habit.
The whole border argument is silly anyway. Russia has the longest border of any country, and they expect that border to be surrounded with buffer states that they control. If they engulf them, then there’s an even bigger border and more states to seize control over. It doesn’t take much to see the self-serving imperialist logic of this position. They’ll grab evrything they can until they’re stopped. That’s the real situation.
One consequence of Russia invading Ukraine is that Finland and Sweden joined Nato. Finland has a 1,340 km border with Russia, so Putin has not created a “bigger buffer” - he has managed to double Russia’s border with Nato. Also, the countries you label as unfriendly are peaceful countries who are only ‘unfriendly’ to Russia because they worry about Russian imperialist expansion, and Russia’s aggression habit.
The whole border argument is silly anyway. Russia has the longest border of any country, and they expect that border to be surrounded with buffer states that they control. If they engulf them, then there’s an even bigger border and more states to seize control over. It doesn’t take much to see the self-serving imperialist logic of this position. They’ll grab evrything they can until they’re stopped. That’s the real situation.