NATO

 NY Times: NATO Steps Up Readiness in Eastern Europe - The alliance is sending more jets and ships to the region. The decision comes as Britain joined the U.S. in withdrawing the families of diplomats in Kyiv, moves that the Ukraine government called premature. By Michael Schwirtz

The moves signaled growing fears of a potential Russian military intervention in Ukraine, as well as increasing concerns about the Kremlin flexing its muscles further afield. Russian troops and equipment are pouring into neighboring Belarus for planned exercises next month that U.S. officials fear are not only directed at Ukraine, but also NATO countries on Belarus’s western border like Poland and the Baltic countries.