As the expansionist Russian Federation transfers its troops to the border with Ukraine, and within occupied, annexed Crimea, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned them not continue their troop buildup, promising Ukraine that it had NATO's support. Ukraine is not a member of NATO, but is seeking membership in the alliance to counter Russia's aggression. From the linked article:
"The comments came amid a rise in cease-fire violations in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces have been locked in a conflict since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. More than 14,000 people have died in fighting in eastern Ukraine since 2014, and efforts to negotiate a political settlement have stalled.
Stoltenberg called Moscow’s recent troop deployment the biggest military buildup since the conflict in eastern Ukraine began."
Stoltenberg indicated that NATO representatives would be meeting today to discuss and coordinate on the situation in Ukraine.
Russian thug and crime organization head Vladimir Putin is testing not only NATO, but the Biden Administration, which slapped new sanctions on Moscow after their devastating "SolarWinds" hack of U.S. computer systems. Putin would like to incorporate Ukraine into what he conceives of as "Greater Russia," which would generally have the footprint of the old Soviet Union, whose loss Putin mourns.
With thousands of Russian "military advisors" / irregular troops fighting in eastern Ukraine, infiltrating more troops and weapons into that region is a serious and ominous threat to the stability of the region. A way must be found to check Putin's ambitions, short of all out war. Stoltenberg's warning may give Putin pause, despite the fact that Putin needs the confrontation to distract from Russia's failing economic performance and crackdown on pro-democracy forces.
BONUS: Russia responds as expected: nyet to slowing build up of forces.
