Joining a military alliance is a right--contingent on there actually being a willingness to admit you.
Just like freedom of speech is a right--but nobody is required to print your views.
If NATO extended an invitation, and Ukraine wanted to join, then no third party (i.e. Russia) has a right to stop them.
not seeing how that is a right. does Russia have a right to join NATO? does Cuba? No country has a
right to join a military alliance.
A right is something that
cannot be taken away, nor is it
given to you by
anyone. NATO membership can be taken away, and it's
given to countries by other NATO members (specifically the United States). It's not like freedom of speech. At all really.
Russia has legitimate security concerns and grievances- but that does not give them a
right to invade another country. And I've never said as much, nor would I ever. I don't think
any country has the right to invade another one. Countries have a right to defend themselves from invasion like Ukraine is doing right now, but that's about it in my view. Maybe also a right to security- but that's questionable to me as security can be open to interpretation. Russia is invading Ukraine not because they have some right to do so, they are doing so simply
because they can. They are a much larger neighboring country with 100+ million more people, they have an economy almost 10x the size of Ukraine's, and they have a
vastly larger and superior military. Countries don't do what they do because of any rights or morality. They do what they do because they either have the power to do something or they don't. Ukraine is not a powerful enough country to think it can incite tensions with Russia and expect no response from Russia. Unfortunately, they have to take into account the concerns of their much more powerful neighbor in order to ensure their security- that is just the reality of the situation. Things are what they are. Not what we wish them to be.