The world has been placed on high alert by the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The logic behind Russia's actions is to protect its national security and to counteract NATO attempts, led by the U.S., to press itself forward onto Russia's borders and overshadow Moscow. As President Vladimir Putin noted on February 25 in his phone conversation with President Xi Jinping, the U.S. and NATO have long turned a blind eye to Russia's security concerns,and have repeatedly negated their promises to Russia, and their continued military deployment eastward has challenged Russia's strategic red line.