What happened
In response to Russia's aggressive actions against Ukraine, including the illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea, Allies suspend all practical civilian and military cooperation with Russia while keeping channels of political and military communication open.
The suspension is the institutional break that ends the post-Cold War partnership period and opens the reassurance period this module's second phase describes. The distinction it preserved — cooperation suspended, communication retained — is still the alliance's position and is the reason NATO's language about Russia today is about threat rather than about partnership.
Confidence: High
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