I'll say something very briefly, and then I'll turn to one of my students.
This is the threat of the west for Russia. There is no geographical threat. There is no geographical interest in conquering Russia. There is no military threat. Nobody in NATO or in eastern Europe is interested in taking on Russia. The actual threat felt by the regime is to have a revolution, a democratic revolution, from within. Therefore, you see the regime arguing that NATO is a threat.
Think of being a Romanian or a Bulgarian or a Hungarian when the Russians say, “You are our buffer zone.” How would we feel if we were a buffer? Why can't these countries have their own control?