Ten days after the Russian army suffered a major military debacle in northeastern Ukraine, with troops fleeing from about a tenth of the territory Russia had occupied, there are signs that the Kremlin is preparing for a significant escalation of the conflict.
As the US and EU announced far-reaching sanctions on Russia on Tuesday, further escalating the conflict, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a “war coalition” in Ukraine’s parliament and began reviewing proposals to sever diplomatic ties with Russia.