He singled out Georgia and Ukraine not to redeem Russians’ emotional commitment to South Ossetia or Crimea, but to punish those countries for their dangerous liaisons with the West – in particular Georgia’s ambition to join NATO and Ukraine’s desire to sign an association agreement with the European Union. Indeed, Russia’s reaction is consistent with its recurrent discourse about being “squeezed out” of its own neighborhood and “encircled” by hostile Western powers.