Pro-Russia separatists patrol near a destroyed war memorial east of the Ukrainian city of Donetsk on Thursday. Ukraine says Russia has opened a new military front to the south. Reuters
Putin Keeps Pushing West Over Ukraine -- Wall Street Journal
Russia Seems Certain It Is More Determined In Its Goals Than U.S., Europe
MOSCOW—Steadily ratcheting up Moscow's intervention in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin seems to be betting that keeping that former Soviet republic in Russia's sphere of influence is much more important to Moscow than pulling Kiev westward is to the U.S. and its European allies.
But while the U.S. and Europe have ruled out any direct military intervention to defend Ukraine, Moscow's moves this week to send hundreds of its own troops there to fight alongside pro-Russia separatists represent a risky new escalation.
"Putin is behaving more and more unpredictably," said Boris Makarenko of the Center for Political Technologies, a Moscow political consultancy. "What was impossible to imagine even as a nightmare scenario just a year ago—Russian and Ukrainian soldiers fighting each other on the battlefield—already appears to be happening."
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My Comment: The part of this report that caught my attention was this one ....
.... Moscow's goal this time appears to be to force Kiev to suspend its military operation, leaving the separatists in control of a swath of Ukrainian territory. That would pave the way for talks on regional autonomy and political decentralization that would likely stall any push by Mr. Poroshenko's government to build closer ties to the West.
"It is clear that Russia is not willing to accept the defeat of the separatists," said Brigadier Gen. Nico Tak, head of NATO's crisis management center. "Russia's ultimate aim is to alleviate pressure on separatist fighters, to 'freeze' this conflict."
I agree.
Update: Putin Escalated To Save His Aggressive Ukraine Policy From Collapsing — But His Strategy Hasn't Changed -- Armin Rosen, Business Insider
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