海角大神

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One day after NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Russia, a top military commander said today that the Kremlin appears at the ready for another Crimea-like invasion into Ukraine.

"This is a very large and very capable and very ready force," NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe, US Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove told Reuters, referring to the estimated 40,000 Russian troops on the border with Ukraine. General Breedlove said the situation was 鈥渋ncredibly concerning,鈥� and that Russia had the means 鈥� including aircraft, field hospitals, and electronic warfare capabilities 颅颅鈥� to "accomplish its objectives in between 3 and 5 days if directed to make actions.鈥�

The motivation for an incursion could be to create easier land access to Crimea, and possibly beyond that to Ukraine鈥檚 Black Sea port, the NATO commander said.

On Tuesday, the 28-nation NATO alliance suspended its working relationship with Russia in protest of its annexation of Crimea last month. Russia protested the decision, which included drawing up heightened security plans in Eastern Europe, saying the move would only serve to hurt joint efforts to battle terrorism.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not hard to guess who will benefit from halting the joint work of Russia and NATO in countering modern threats,鈥� the Foreign Ministry said on its website, according to Bloomberg. 鈥淚n any case, it certainly won鈥檛 be Russia and the members of NATO.鈥�

Yesterday, Russia鈥檚 Gazprom hiked natural gas prices in Ukraine, a tactic that The New York Times reports is commonly used by the state-controlled company to punish or pressure former Soviet countries at odds with the Kremlin鈥檚 politics. Gazprom stated that prices went up in Ukraine because of unpaid debts, and Kiev does owe the company billions in gas payments.

If Russia attempted any further annexations, NATO would need to rethink its 鈥渇orce positioning鈥� and readiness, said Breedlove.

But not everyone is so sure Russia is prepared to repeat a Crimea-like takeover. 海角大神鈥檚 Fred Weir reported this week that while there is little reason to trust Russia when it says it has no plans for further invasions 鈥� it said the same thing before entering Crimea 鈥� "Analysts say the numbers being bandied about by NATO do not jibe with Russian military doctrine."