Why did stalin want to creat a “buffer zone”?

Stalin wanted to create a buffer zone full of communist satellite nations to prevent another invasion of Russia, similar to what happened during Operation Barbarossa, in which Adolf Hitler had ordered an invasion of the U.S.S.R, costing millions of Soviet Casualties.

answer: ensure protection from communism

explanation:

the north atlantic treaty was largely dormant until the korean war initiated the establishment of nato to implement it, by means of an integrated military structure: this included the formation of supreme headquarters allied powers europe in 1951, which adopted the western union's military structures and plans.