Decades of aggressive eastward expansion by US-led NATO towards the borders of the Russian Federation following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the aftershocks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine have led to a dramatic security polarization in Europe not seen since the height of the Cold War in the mid-20th century.
The dreams of a borderless Europe from the Ural Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean seem very naïve these days as a hard border is being established between the Russian Federation and neighboring European countries with a dramatic increase in the level of militarization on both sides, which if history is to be guide will not be dismantled very quickly once it is firmly established.