After nearly 25 years in which it barely featured in Western strategic thinking about security, Russia suddenly returned to prominence with the eruption of war in Ukraine in 2014. The war has stimulated much discussion in NATO and its member state capitals of Russian anti-Western aggression, and about a ‘return to the Cold War’ and the emergence of a new ‘Russian style’ of ‘hybrid’ warfare. But this has often thrown more light on Western interests and problems than Russian strategy and Moscow’s intentions and priorities. Indeed, it has often highlighted how poorly Russian strategy and intentions are understood in the West – largely because of the significant differences in how Moscow sees international affairs.