The renewed movements of Russian forces in the area come as the Kremlin embraces a harder line on Ukraine. Putin has warned that any expansion of NATO military infrastructure on Ukrainian territory represents a “red line” for Moscow. The situation also comes as the simmering 7½-year conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists in the eastern Donbas region enters a new stage. What the Russian forces gathering near the Ukrainian border are doing is unclear. Ukrainian officials see such moves as a way for Moscow to keep the situation tense and uncertain.
