I expected all sorts of things from Vladimir Putin in response to the recent crisis in Ukraine, but military drills near the fragile border had never crossed my mind. Not even once, I must admit. Apparently, both ground and air units will be involved in the first stage, whereas the navy will take part in the second stage. Many tens of thousands of soldiers will be engaged in the exercise, which is scheduled to last a few days only. Counterterrorist measures will also be tested in the drills. Interestingly, the announcement of the exercise in Russia does not mention Ukraine at all. Most subtle and cunning, no doubt. But Putin can surely do better than this, and soon. Annexation of the eastern half of Ukraine, where the majority of inhabitants is Russian, would be the move worth some international attention. Their security must be uppermost on Putin’s mind, it goes without saying. And the soldiers would all be close at hand, anyhow. The drills will undoubtedly be followed with utmost interest both in Europe and America. The cold war is back, at long last.

Addendum (February 28, 2014)

The situation in Ukraine is getting messier by the day. Some precision about Russia’s drills would be useful at this juncture. “All in all, about 150 thousand military personnel of different services of the armed forces and military commands are involved in the drills,” Russian defense minister Sergey Shoigu said in a statement recently released by the ministry. “Up to 90 planes, more than 120 helicopters, up to 880 tanks, over 1,200 defense equipment units, and about 80 ships will be used.” That is today’s count, but I would not be surprised if all the numbers end up higher than projected. Putin is not kidding around, to be sure. And there are more and more mentions of the cold war in the news. The way the mess in Ukraine is shaping, few will have any doubts about it in just a few weeks. The European Union is now facing a serious threat on its eastern border, which seemed to be history when the club was taking shape in the early Nineties. The shaky euro is a clear sign of troubles ahead.