russia already shares a small part of its border with nato countries. if ukraine were to join, it would increase the number of countries in the alliance, on russia's borders. anders fogh rasmussen was secretary general of nato from 2009—2014. here's his assessment. he won't stop. i mean, ukraine is the first step. if he gets away with his coercion, his aggression against ukraine, then he will continue. so that's the lesson learned from history. appeasement with dictators will never lead to peace, it will only lead to war and conflict. that's why we have to stand, strong and united. that is the only language that putin understands. things have escalated quickly this week. on monday mr putin declared that russia had recognised the independence of the so—called people's republics of lu ha nsk and donetsk.