MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin ordered a surprise exercise of ground and air forces on Ukraine’s doorstep Wednesday, intending to demonstrate his country’s military preparedness at a time of heightened tensions with Europe and the United States over the turmoil gripping Russia’s western neighbor. The Obama administration said any Russian military intervention in Ukraine would be a costly and “grave mistake.”
EuroMaidan Revolution
New York Times: Putin drills ground troops at Ukraine’s doorstep as US warns against intervention
: Poeple gather in Kiev's Independence square to hear the line-up of the new pro-Western cabinet on February 26, 2014. Ukraine's new leaders nominated a strongly pro-Western cabinet Wednesday as brawls erupted between rival factions on the volatile Crimean peninsula and Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered snap military drills near the border with the ex-Soviet state.AFP PHOTO/ LOUISA GOULIAMAKI
