THE SITUATION IN EASTERN UKRAINE IS ABOUT TO BECOME MUCH MORE DANGEROUS(Source Storm Clouds Gathering) Many analysts have speculated that the Ukrainian crisis is a trap laid by the U.S. and NATO to entice Russia to invade Ukraine and thereby weaken Russia on multiple levels. Indeed, this line of reasoning seems to be influencing Putin’s decision making process, even to the point that he is resisting domestic pressure to protect the eastern Ukrainians. Again, Putin clearly doesn’t want this situation to escalate to a full out armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia, otherwise he would have responded already, however to assume that his previous decisions can be used to predict his future actions would be very foolish. Given the Ukrainian military’s bombing of residential areas in eastern Ukraine, Russia now has a credible argument for intervention if Kiev attempts to repeat this tactic in Donetsk. Though it’s unlikely that Russia would make the mistake of launching a full ground offensive, airstrikes on Ukrainian artillery positions and the imposition of a no-fly zone would be more than enough to tip the scales in the favor of the separatists. The United States would of course be tempted to respond in kind, but their options would be limited. All speculation aside, it should be clear that this situation is highly volatile, and one single event could spark a chain reaction that has unimaginable consequences.