Whi was responsible for starting the cold war: the united states or the soviet union​

Well it depends on how you think about it.. The Soviet union Started the war but ant the end of WW2, the U.S diddnt want to share the victory of defeating japan with USSR so the U.S dropped the bomb as fast as possible and that was foreshadowing of the cold war.

Explanation:

So it was both but the answer is soviet union​

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.