In pictures: Russian military build-up near Ukraine

[RiverNoord]

17. No, the formations depicted don't show immediate preparation

for combat against an active, well equipped, fortified foe. But Ukraine's military is not such a foe, with large numbers of defenders in heavy fortifications. And they certainly won't send forces across the border to attack Russian forces, recognizing the stupidity of any such effort.

BTW, the Kremlin did repeatedly deny that Russian troops were off-base, and repeatedly claimed that their obvious ground forces present in considerable numbers were 'Crimean self-defense forces.' So... your claim that 'NO ONE HAS EVER DENIED THAT THE RUSSIAN HAD TROOPS IN THE AREA' is, sadly, false.

I don't know why you are making claims like that, and I recognize that there are very substantial nuances evidenced by the Crimea situation. Still, Vladimir Putin sent soldiers into a potential combat environment (Crimea) without identifying insignia, then denied that the soldiers were Russian. That's pretty damn pathetic and despicable. So, in this particular situation I am not inclined to accept Russian explanations and excuses regarding the nature of troop buildups in the area.

There are really only two reasons for having a lot of troops massed on a border with another nation, which is comparatively very weak militarily. The first is threaten and scare the hell out of the folks on the other side, and the second is to prepare for an invasion.