Russia and NATO in "Direct Confrontation"

The spokesperson for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, stated that Russia and NATO have now entered a "direct confrontation," as the NATO alliance led by the United States celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary on Thursday. He said, "In fact, relations have now descended to the level of direct confrontation," and added that "NATO is already involved in the conflict surrounding Ukraine and continues to creep towards our borders, expanding its military infrastructure towards our borders." The consecutive waves of NATO's eastward expansion represent an obsession for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who fought a war in Ukraine two years ago with the declared aim of preventing NATO from approaching Russian borders. However, the war, on the contrary, has provoked NATO, which has once again expanded with the accession of Finland and Sweden.