"But why, one wonders, has Russia not doubted the very same guarantee long extended to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania? "
The difference is that when the Baltics joined, they did not have any active territorial disputes. Ukraine on the other hand will have a territorial dispute with Russia for the foreseeable future. Ukrainian NATO members…
"But why, one wonders, has Russia not doubted the very same guarantee long extended to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania? "
The difference is that when the Baltics joined, they did not have any active territorial disputes. Ukraine on the other hand will have a territorial dispute with Russia for the foreseeable future. Ukrainian NATO membership would therefore risk either World War III or it would water down the Article 5 pledge.
By that you mean Ivangorod? In theory true, but in practice that's a territory Estonia lost in the 1940s. That would be like Germany claiming Silesia and East Prussia today.
A better analogy to Crimea/Donbass would be if Narva broke away from Estonia, something that almost happened in the 1990s.
"But why, one wonders, has Russia not doubted the very same guarantee long extended to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania? "
The difference is that when the Baltics joined, they did not have any active territorial disputes. Ukraine on the other hand will have a territorial dispute with Russia for the foreseeable future. Ukrainian NATO membership would therefore risk either World War III or it would water down the Article 5 pledge.
Both Estonia and Latvia had unresolved border disputes with Russia at the time they joined NATO.
By that you mean Ivangorod? In theory true, but in practice that's a territory Estonia lost in the 1940s. That would be like Germany claiming Silesia and East Prussia today.
A better analogy to Crimea/Donbass would be if Narva broke away from Estonia, something that almost happened in the 1990s.