Putin's public goals extend beyond Ukraine. He has explicitly demanded that NATO stop its eastward expansion, withdraw troops from countries that joined after 1997 (including all those that were once occupied by the Soviet Union and joined after 1999), and renegotiate Europe's "security architecture" to acknowledge the former sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. He also hopes to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe, thereby weakening the transatlantic relationship established after World War II.