• NATO to deploy small units in 6 Eastern European nations - Associated Press By LORNE COOK

NATO to deploy small units in 6 Eastern European nations
Associated Press By LORNE COOK

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Monday, Jan. 26, 2015. Ambassadors met on Monday for an extraordinary meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission and released a statement condemning the sharp escalation of violence along the ceasefire line in eastern Ukraine. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

• Putin Calls Ukrainian Army 'NATO Legion'

Putin Calls Ukrainian Army 'NATO Legion'

Ukrainian armed forces are in essence a 'NATO legion', which is not serving the country's national interests, Russian President Putin said. 

• U.S. Army sending 100 tanks to Eastern Europe to deter ‘Russian aggression By Douglas Ernst

U.S. Army sending 100 tanks to Eastern Europe to deter ‘Russian aggression

By Douglas Ernst 

The U.S. Army plans to send 100 Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles into Eastern Europe as a deterrent to “Russian aggression.”

• Thousands of Russian Troops in Airport Push BY JAMES RUPERT

Thousands of Russian Troops in Airport Push 

BY JAMES RUPERT

Putin hovers between launching a winter or spring offensive. ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO/REUTERS

A “substantial number” of Russian Federation special forces troops led this week’s capture of the Donetsk airport amid what appears to be Russia’s biggest direct military offensive in Ukraine since last summer.

• Russia could soon run multiple Ukraine-sized operations: U.S. general - Reuters By Adrian Croft

Russia could soon run multiple Ukraine-sized operations: U.S. general
Reuters By Adrian Croft

Russian amphibious vehicles drive in formation during celebrations to mark Navy Day in the far eastern Russian port of Vladivostok July 27, 2014. REUTERS/Yuri Maltsev (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY ANNIVERSARY)

• Conviction of Putin foe sets off protest in Moscow - By NATALIYA VASILYEVA

Conviction of Putin foe sets off protest in Moscow

by NATALIYA VASILYEVA

Supporters and opponents of Russian opposition activist and anti-corruption crusader Alexei Navalny clash during unsanctioned protest in Manezhnaya Square in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014. The unsanctioned protest came hours after Alexei Navalny was found guilty of fraud and given a suspended sentence. Navalny, who has been under house arrest since February, is accused of breaking the terms of his house arrest to attend the rally and was detained by police as he approached the site of the protest. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

• Putin Is Infiltrating European Politics With Shocking Effectiveness - JEREMY BENDER

Putin Is Infiltrating European Politics With Shocking Effectiveness

JEREMY BENDER   

Putin has become shockingly effective at influencing European politics through a host of far-right parties.

The following chart from the Center for Eurasian Strategic Intelligence (CESI) shows Russia's growing influence within six different European Union countries.