James S. Robbins: Ukraine crisis may be Putin’s test for the Biden administration

Published April 21, 2021 at 1:09 pm

A Ukrainian serviceman stands at his position on the frontline with Russian-backed seperatists near the small city of Marinka, Donetsk region, on April 20, 2021. - An emergency meeting between Russia, Ukraine and separatists was under way on April 20, 2021, in an effort to defuse soaring tensions over Russia's troop buildup along the ex-Soviet country's borders. A spokesman for the Ukrainian delegation told AFP that progress had been made on efforts to restore a ceasefire that was agreed last July but upended by a recent spate of clashes between Ukrainian troops and Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. (Photo by Aleksey Filippov / AFP)

Photo by AFP

Is the Kremlin testing the Biden administration in Ukraine? Or is Russia ready for war?

On Saturday, Russia and Ukraine mutually expelled diplomats, the latest move in a series of escalations between the two countries. Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine’s eastern border and in Crimea, part of what the Kremlin calls a “readiness” exercise. Ready for what is the question.