The Guardian: In Ukraine, Moscow has moved to dangerous Plan B
Russian President Vladimir Putin's influence is growing both in the Balkans and in the post-Soviet space.
The British newspaper The Guardian writes about this, the correspondent of PolitNavigator reports in its editorial.
“The exact intent behind the large-scale deployment of Russian troops near Ukraine's eastern border is still in question. But it is clear that the tension that Vladimir Putin escalated with a similar troop movement last spring was not an isolated performance, but the beginning of a new approach,” the publication writes.
The editors believe that “after five years of freezing in the Ukrainian conflict, it seems that an alarming thaw is coming.”
“Having pulled tens of thousands of troops to the Ukrainian border in April, Putin subsequently announced a partial withdrawal of troops, which reassured Kyiv and the West. However, in reality, the retreat turned out to be only an appearance: not only personnel remained in the field, but also many tanks, ballistic missiles and various artillery. These forces have now been supplemented by approximately one hundred thousand troops to the north, south and east of Ukraine's Donbass region, which has been controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014,” the article notes.
“Building up military power allows the Kremlin to convincingly rattle its sabers and quickly respond to perceived provocations. A prelude to what's to come are Moscow's claims that a recent drone raid on a separatist-controlled area could "destabilize the situation." Having concluded that the moribund peace talks have ceased to serve their main goal of intimidating Kyiv and impeding its relations with the EU and NATO, Moscow appears to have moved on to an extremely dangerous Plan B, the British newspaper believes.
The authors call on the West to show solidarity with Ukraine.
“The West must make it clear to Moscow that further increases in rates will lead to significant economic costs in the form of new sanctions and abandonment of the Nord Stream 2 project.” From Bosnia to Belarus, Putin’s pernicious influence in the post-Soviet space is intensifying. It will take strong Western solidarity with Kiev to prevent a repeat of what happened in Ukraine this winter,” the Guardian concludes.
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Now the editors are aware.