Putin Starts War Game on NATO Frontier, Alarming Wary Europe
- Western estimates say 100,000 soldiers taking part in drills
- Defense ministers across continent decry Russian ‘aggression’
How Putin Became the Symbol of Russian Power
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The last time Vladimir Putin sent thousands of troops into Belarus to defend against an imaginary invasion from the west, a real war erupted on Russia’s periphery within months -- in Ukraine in 2014.