You see, peace in Europe is only maintained through the ability (or illusion thereof) of russia being able to invade and otherwise exert influence over former soviet and warsaw pact states at any point in time with little resistance.

The moment there is the credible threat of resistance, it is a clear provocation and justifies a response, possibly an invasion.

I trust I cleared that up for you.

edit: The sad part is, this is similar to US and Chinese policy. World and regional power politics is closer to schoolyard bully behaviour than we’d like. Vote for your favourite bully today!