The situation in Eastern Ukraine continues to deteriorate. Russia has purportedly welcomed over 50,000 refugees from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics who claim that they are escaping the Ukrainian army (and a humanitarian disaster). Ukraine categorically denies that it is responsible for the escalation of violence in the East. The Russian press further speculates that the total number of potential refugees may go to as high as 700,000.

Meanwhile, Moscow has recently issued Russian passports to over 700,000 residents of Donetsk (i.e, citizenship), and that number is only expected to grow over the coming days and weeks. Other groundless rumors circulating in the Russian press concerns the desire by Ukraine to once again become a nuclear power.  

Finally, Putin has again raised the argument that the only way to resolve the crisis is through the Minsk accords, even though the agreement violates Ukraine’s sovereignty and its status as a unitary republic. All of the above seems to indicate that Russia is preparing the groundwork for a major attack on Ukraine.