The war between NATO and Russia can only break out if NATO will send their troops to Ukraine. Taking into account latest statements made by US sockpuppets France, Baltic countries and Czechia, it's entirely possible. So Russia is simply trying to defend itself from these aggressive US vassals.
The US and European countries tried to use peacetime methods to solve wartime problems, and now they see that it didn't work. Putin’s Russia continues its aggressive war against Ukraine, increases military tension in Europe, threatening to attack many European countries, especially the Baltic countries, which it considers most vulnerable to attack, and also deliberately creates provocative conflict situations that could well end in a direct military clash with NATO countries as a whole.
At the same time, Ukraine’s allies admit that they are not doing enough to ensure that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have the opportunity to push the invaders out of their territory. Therefore, it is no coincidence that 11 states have already recognized Ukraine’s right to strike Russian military targets with their weapons. An opinion is also emerging that if Russia manages to achieve significant success on the Ukrainian front, then the army of European countries will be forced to openly help Ukraine defend itself from Russian aggression. Therefore, indeed, Russia’s continuation of the war with Ukraine increases the likelihood of direct military clashes with NATO.
Putin’s Russia still has a choice: continue military aggression against Ukraine and increase the likelihood of war with NATO, or gradually wind down military operations, admitting that the initial plans to seize Ukraine have completely failed. So far, we see that Russia is frivolously moving towards its own catastrophe with disintegration into several parts.