NATO encirclement/provocation is the aggressor; Russia responds defensively
Claim
NATO's eastward expansion and provocations are the true aggression; Russia's actions are a defensive response to an encroaching threat.
Normative Conclusion
Kremlin counter-narrative
Keywords
manufactured threatRussophobiaNATO encirclementself-inflictedevidence-freepolitical need for an enemykonstruierte BedrohungRussophobieEinkreisungselbstverschuldetmilitarizprovocationencirclementimperialismimperialisthypocrisypretextland grabdestabilizbloc confrontationdouble standardcomplicityfalse flagstaged provocation