President Vladimir Putin's repositioning of troops closer to Ukraine is part of a Russian push to secure and frame the terms of another summit with U.S. President Joe Biden, say two people close to official Russian foreign policy circles.
The other big aim is to signal to the West that it should stop helping Ukraine upgrade its military and that Kyiv should avoid escalating a grinding conflict with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, the two people said.
U.S., NATO and Ukrainian officials have raised the alarm in recent weeks over what they say are unusual Russian troop movements closer to Ukraine, suggesting that Moscow may be poised to launch a new attack on its neighbor — accusations Russia has rejected as fear-mongering.