They were not offered NATO membership. Putin hinted to Clinton he would like it. Clinton didn't respond. Came back later (after consulting with his staff) and declined the offer.

Putin is smart enough to know that Russia is in no position to be an imperialist power.

The goal of keeping Russia and Europe (Germany) apart is not a secret. Please see Zbigniew Brzezinski.

And I'd like to point out that the Soviets kept Germany divided for a justifiable reason: 27 million Russians died at the hands of Germany's imperial ambitions.

And while we are on the subject of "bullshit", the war in Ukraine did NOT start in Feb 2022. It started long before that.