Russia’s army is massing troops and hundreds of pieces of weaponry including mobile rocket launchers, tanks and artillery at a makeshift base near the border with Ukraine, a Reuters reporter saw this week. Many of the vehicles have number plates and identifying marks removed while many of the servicemen had taken insignia off their fatigues. As such, they match the appearance of some of the forces spotted in eastern Ukraine, which Kiev and its Western allies allege are covert Russian detachments. The scene at the base on the Kuzminsky firing range, around 50 km (30 miles) from the border, offers some of the clearest evidence to date of what appeared to be a concerted Russian military build-up in the area. Earlier this month, NATO military commander General Philip Breedlove said he believed the separatists were taking advantage of a ceasefire that came into force in February to re-arm and prepare for a new offensive. However, he gave no specifics. Russia denies that its military is involved in the conflict in Ukraine’s east, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting forces loyal to the pro-Western government in Kiev. Russia’s defense ministry said it had no immediate comment about the build-up. Several soldiers said they had been sent to the base for simple military exercises, suggesting their presence was unconnected to the situation in Ukraine. Asked by Reuters if large numbers of unmarked weaponry and troops without insignia at the border indicated that Russia planned to invade Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a conference call with reporters: “I find the wording of this question, ‘if an invasion is being prepared’, inappropriate as such.”
The thug-acracy of Vlad doesn’t like being called out like that. We’ve been saying here at The Daily Buzz for over 11 months now, that the Obama Administration needs to do a WHOLE lot more to counter Vlad’s brazen aggression and global bullying. To that end, we’ve been calling on Obama and his minions to take a more assertive military posture, and we’ve outlined on numerous occassions substantive measures that the administration could take that would send a VERY clear message to Moscow. Thus far (and no surprise), the measures taken have been symbolic and timid, and project weakness….which is very dangerous.
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