The amassment of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border makes the world nervous. Putin's retoric is belligerent and the Kremlin refuses to talk to the Ukrainian leadership. Is it deterrence, bluff or the foreboding of war?

From 10 till 15 September Russian and Belarusian troops held their joint military exercises Zapad-2021. Strangely enough the main push was directed not against the West, but against Ukraine.