UKRAINE LATEST – AT 8:45 A.M. ET:  Russia continues to build its forces, as Putin justifies use of military action.  From Fox:

KIEV, Ukraine – Dispatching sizable troop reinforcements into Crimea on Monday, Russia consolidated its military control over the southeastern Ukrainian territory and may be preparing for a wider invasion of the country, senior U.S. officials traveling with Secretary of State John Kerry to Kiev, the restive Ukrainian capital, said early Tuesday.

"We still have a very real concern that the Russians have other plans in the Ukraine," said one senior U.S. official, briefing reporters aboard Kerry's official airplane en route from New York to Kiev. "They may be planning other moves."

For the first time since the crisis erupted, senior U.S. officials complained of difficulty tracking Russian troop movements. They said the expected redeployment of Russian security forces following the end of the Olympic Games in Sochi, as well as routine military exercises in the area, had complicated the task of determining how many Russian troops are still pouring into Crimea.

The officials could not immediately dismiss reports that the number of total Russian troops in Crimea may now have reached as high as 16,000, which if true would appear to mark a surge of an additional 10,000 troops into the area within a period of 24 to 36 hours. "It's clearly a large number," an official said.

At the same time, the officials noted reports of Russian aircraft approaching, or even trespassing in, Ukrainian airspace, and Ukrainian jets scrambling to repel them. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power told the U.N. Security Council on Monday that "it is a fact" that Russian jets entered Ukrainian airspace.

The U.S. officials also cited evidence that Ukrainian and Russian forces have each been massing on opposite sides of the isthmus that connects Ukraine to Crimea -- a development that one senior U.S. official said "raises the prospect" that the Kremlin may be preparing to "extend" its invasion to the mainland.

COMMENT:  Putin said yesterday that force was a "last resort" in dealing with what he claimed was an illegal transfer of power within the Ukrainian government, but that it was justified.  He also launched the usual accusation that the West was being hypocritical, citing Western interventions in a number of places. 

I would not underestimate Putin's ability to maneuver.  As a strategist and international politician he is far superior to Obama, although that standard is low.  I would not be surprised if Putin lies low for a time, to lull us, then consolidates control over Crimea and even Ukraine generally.  It's the strategy being pursued by Iran, with great success.  As Lenin said, two steps forward, one step back.

March 4,  2014