Abstract
Russia’s interaction with NATO includes concerns that its expansion is a security threat. Despite its opposition, Russia has accepted NATO enlargement for political and financial gain. This paper examines Kremlin disinformation concerning two of the alleged leading causes of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014: NATO encirclement and the US “overthrow” of Ukraine’s president. It documents how Russia’s claim that the West provoked it to defend its sphere disintegrates when compared to a historical timeline of paired examples concerning Russia’s response to NATO expansion. A related aim is to illustrate, also through a timeline, that the overthrow of Ukraine’s president was the consequence of a popular uprising.