It has been a foregone conclusion since April that, barring a separatist military victory and/or a Ukrainian concession of territory, Russia would have to commit its military forces into the Ukrainian crisis at one point or another.
The waiting is almost over. The last three weeks have not been good one for Russia or the separatists they are supporting. Setbacks on the battlefield and the disastrous MH-17 incident have not caused Russia to scale back its involvement in the crisis. Quite the opposite, in fact. As events are playing out this week, it appears that Vladimir Putin is preparing to go for broke.
On the Russian side of the border, a new military buildup is underway. At the same time there is talk in Moscow about the ‘need for humanitarian peacekeeping inside of the Ukraine.’ Make no mistake about it, Russian intervention is more probable now than at any point in the crisis.
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