Military Exercises Feared to Be Cover for Putin’s Secret Weapons Plan

Russian Defense MinistryKRAMATORSK, Ukraine—Ukrainian and Western military insiders fear that joint exercises that began on Thursday will be used as cover by President Vladimir Putin for the unprecedented integration of Russian and Belarusian forces, and the smuggling of weapons and troops over the border to assist pro-Kremlin rebels in Ukraine.The conditions for military action against Ukraine are greater now than at any time in the past several weeks, analysts and former Ukrainian government officials told The Daily Beast, as the Russian military amasses troops along virtually every border with the Eastern European nation. Any military action, including a limited invasion and annexation of the contested eastern regions currently controlled by pro-Russian separatists, would be timed to three simultaneous events later this month, those officials said. Meanwhile, experts pointed to a day in late February which could be used as cover for the maneuvering of military hardware.That day, Feb. 20, marks the eighth anniversary of the deadliest day of the Euromaidan protests, and is “a huge trigger” which could lead foreign actors to “use the protests as a cover for direct action,” said a former Ukrainian defense ministry official, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss sensitive government briefings.Read more at The Daily Beast.