{"id":62734,"date":"2022-02-20T13:31:39","date_gmt":"2022-02-20T13:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:50:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:50:56","slug":"russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia extends troop drills near Ukraine as violence spikes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Russia extended military drills near Ukraine\u2019s northern borders<\/a> Sunday amid increased fears that two days of sustained shelling along the contact line between soldiers and Russa-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine could spark an invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exercises, originally set to end Sunday, brought a sizable contingent of Russian forces to neighboring Belarus, which borders Ukraine to the north. The presence of the Russian troops raised concern that they could be used to sweep down on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The announcement came from the defense minister of Belarus, who said the two countries would \u201ccontinue testing the response forces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early Sunday morning, a Ukrainian military official told Military Times he believed that Russian forces were now fully ready to launch a major attack, concuring with what U.S. officials have been saying. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that Russian forces \u201care uncoiling and are now poised to strike\u201d Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Western leaders warned that Russia was poised to attack its neighbor, which is surrounded on three sides by about 150,000 Russian soldiers, warplanes and equipment. Russia held nuclear drills<\/a> Saturday as well as the conventional exercises in Belarus, and has ongoing naval drills off the coast in the Black Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States and many European countries have alleged for months that Russia is trying to create pretexts to invade.<\/a> They have threatened massive, immediate sanctions if it does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A Ukrainian serviceman stands in a shelter on a position at the line of separation between Ukraine-held territory and rebel-held territory near Zolote, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, facing a sharp spike in violence in and around territory held by Russia-backed rebels and increasingly dire warnings that Russia plans to invade, has called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet him and seek a resolution to the crisis. (AP Photo\/Evgeniy Maloletka)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A top European Union official, Charles Michel, said Sunday that \u201cthe big question remains: does the Kremlin want dialogue?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe cannot forever offer an olive branch while Russia conducts missile tests and continues to amass troops,\u201d Michel, the president of the European Council, said at the Munich Security Conference. He said, \u201cOne thing is certain: if there is further military aggression, we will react with massive sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to choose a place where the two leaders could meet to try to resolve the crisis. Russia has denied plans to invade.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUkraine will continue to follow only the diplomatic path for the sake of a peaceful settlement,\u201d Zelenskyy said Saturday at an international security conference in Munich, Germany. There was no immediate response from the Kremlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine on Saturday ordered a full military mobilization and sent more civilians to Russia, which has issued about 700,000 passports<\/a> to residents of the rebel-held territories. Claims that Russian citizens are being endangered might be used as justification for military action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials in the separatist territories claimed Ukrainian forces launched several artillery attacks over the past day and that two civilians were killed in an unsuccessful assault on a village near the Russian border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday emphasized the significance of the moment that Europe faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking about the potential for war in Europe,\u201d Harris said at the Munich Security Conference. \u201cIt\u2019s been over 70 years, and through those 70 years … there has been peace and security.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine\u2019s leader criticized the U.S. and other Western nations for holding back on new sanctions for Russia. Zelenskyy, in comments before the conference, also questioned the West\u2019s refusal to allow Ukraine to join NATO immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin has demanded that NATO not take Ukraine as a member. Harris stood by the U.S. decision to hold off on sanctions but said she wouldn\u2019t second guess Zelenskyy\u2019s \u201cdesires for his country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In new signs of fears that a war could start within days, Germany and Austria told their citizens to leave Ukraine. German air carrier Lufthansa canceled flights to the capital, Kyiv, and to Odesa, a Black Sea port that could be a key target in an invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO\u2019s liaison office in Kyiv said it was relocating staff to Brussels and to the western Ukraine city of Lviv.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. President Joe Biden said late Friday <\/a>that based on the latest American intelligence, he was now \u201cconvinced\u201d that Putin has decided to invade Ukraine in coming days and assault the capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A U.S. military official said an estimated 40% to 50% of those ground forces have moved into attack positions closer to the border. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal U.S. assessments, said the change has been underway for about a week and does not necessarily mean Putin has settled on an invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lines of communication between Moscow and the West remain open: the American and Russian defense chiefs spoke Friday. French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Putin on Sunday for nearly two hours before a call with the Ukrainian president. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed to meet next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediate worries focused on eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces have been fighting the pro-Russia rebels since 2014 in a conflict that has killed some 14,000 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine and the separatist leaders traded accusations of escalation. Russia on Saturday said at least two shells fired from a government-held part of eastern Ukraine landed across the border, but Ukraine\u2019s foreign minister dismissed that claim as \u201ca fake statement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top Ukrainian military officials came under a shelling attack during a tour of the front of the nearly eight-year separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine. The officials fled to a bomb shelter before hustling from the area, according to an Associated Press journalist who was on the tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Bricks and debris mixes with toys below a damaged wall after the reported shelling on a kindergarten in the settlement of Stanytsia Luhanska, Ukraine Thursday late, Feb. 17, 2022. UU.S. President Joe Biden sounded unusually dire Thursday, as he warned that Washington saw no signs of a promised Russian withdrawal \u2014 but instead saw more troops moving toward the border with Ukraine, indicating Moscow could invade within days. (AP Photo\/Oleksandr Ratushniak)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The military on Sunday closed a key checkpoint leading to the separatist region after it came under repeated shelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere on the front lines, Ukrainian soldiers said they were under orders not to return fire. Zahar Leshushun, peering into the distance with a periscope, had followed the news all day from a trench where he is posted near the town of Zolote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now, we don\u2019t respond to their fire because …\u201d the soldier started to explain before being interrupted by the sound of an incoming shell. \u201cOh! They are shooting at us now. They are aiming at the command post.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ukrainian military official told Military Times that the only thing stopping an attack from Russia \u201cis they do not have yet casus belli. We are trying to be cool in mind and have warm hearts to understand them what they are looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sporadic violence has broken out for years along the line separating Ukrainian forces from the Russia-backed separatists, but the spike seen in recent days is orders of magnitude higher than anything recently recorded by international monitors: nearly 1,500 explosions recorded in 24 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denis Pushilin, the head of the pro-Russia separatist government in Ukraine\u2019s Donetsk region, cited an \u201cimmediate threat of aggression\u201d from Ukrainian forces in his announcement of a call to arms. Ukrainian officials vehemently denied having plans to take rebel-controlled areas by force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI appeal to all the men in the republic who can hold weapons to defend their families, their children, wives, mothers,\u201d Pushilin said. \u201cTogether we will achieve the coveted victory that we all need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A similar statement followed from his counterpart in the Luhansk region. On Friday, the rebels began evacuating civilians to Russia with an announcement that appeared to be part of their and Moscow\u2019s efforts to paint Ukraine as the aggressor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Metadata from two videos posted by the separatists announcing the evacuation of civilians to Russia show that the files were created two days ago, the AP confirmed. U.S. authorities have alleged that the Kremlin\u2019s effort to come up with an invasion pretext could include staged, prerecorded videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine\u2019s military said two of its soldiers died in firing from the separatist side on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities in Russia\u2019s Rostov region, which borders eastern Ukraine, declared a state of emergency because of the influx of evacuees. Media reports on Saturday described chaos at some of the camps assigned to accommodate them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin ordered the Russian government to offer 10,000 rubles (about $130) to each evacuee, an amount equivalent to about half of an average monthly salary in eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The separatist regions of Ukraine, like much of the country\u2019s east, are majority Russian speaking. Putin on Tuesday repeated allegations of a \u201cgenocide\u201d there in explaining the need to protect them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the evacuees, a Donetsk resident who identified himself only as Vyacheslav, blamed Ukraine\u2019s government for his plight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet them calm down,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s our fault we don\u2019t want to speak Ukrainian, is that it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jim Heintz reported from Moscow. Mstyslav Chernov in Zolote, Ukraine, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Aamer Madhani in Munich, Robert Burns and Darlene Superville in Washington, Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius, Lithuania, Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv and Military Times senior managing editor Howard Altman contributed to this story.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The presence of Russian troops in Belarus raised concern that they could be used to sweep down on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":54728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":12,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,23,89,12,26],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1378,2953],"class_list":["post-62734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"CHIK5B3L7FAJ5FMRN4JFMGNJCQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nRussia extends troop drills near Ukraine as violence spikes - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The presence of Russian troops in Belarus raised concern that they could be used to sweep down on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Russia extends troop drills near Ukraine as violence spikes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The presence of Russian troops in Belarus raised concern that they could be used to sweep down on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Navy Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-20T13:31:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T11:50:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lori Hinnant, The Associated Press, Jim Heintz, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lori Hinnant, The Associated Press, Jim Heintz, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/20\\\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/20\\\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"Russia extends troop drills near Ukraine as violence spikes\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2022-02-20T13:31:39+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T11:50:56+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/20\\\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 1591,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/20\\\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/ukie22022.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t \"Flashpoints\",\n\t \"Home\",\n\t \"Middle Column\",\n\t \"News\",\n\t \"Newsletters\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/20\\\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/20\\\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/20\\\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Russia extends troop drills near Ukraine as violence spikes - Navy Times\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/20\\\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/20\\\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/ukie22022.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2022-02-20T13:31:39+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T11:50:56+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"The presence of Russian troops in Belarus raised concern that they could be used to sweep down on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/20\\\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/20\\\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/20\\\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/ukie22022.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/ukie22022.jpg.jpg\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/20\\\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"News\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"news\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"Russia extends troop drills near Ukraine as violence spikes\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Navy Times\",\n\t \"description\": \"Independent News For Sailors | Navy Times\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Navy Times\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/navy-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/navy-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Navy Times\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Russia extends troop drills near Ukraine as violence spikes - Navy Times","description":"The presence of Russian troops in Belarus raised concern that they could be used to sweep down on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Russia extends troop drills near Ukraine as violence spikes","og_description":"The presence of Russian troops in Belarus raised concern that they could be used to sweep down on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/","og_site_name":"Navy Times","article_published_time":"2022-02-20T13:31:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T11:50:56+00:00","author":"Lori Hinnant, The Associated Press, Jim Heintz, The Associated Press","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lori Hinnant, The Associated Press, Jim Heintz, The Associated Press","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Russia extends troop drills near Ukraine as violence spikes","datePublished":"2022-02-20T13:31:39+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T11:50:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/"},"wordCount":1591,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ukie22022.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Flashpoints","Home","Middle Column","News","Newsletters"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/","name":"Russia extends troop drills near Ukraine as violence spikes - Navy Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ukie22022.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2022-02-20T13:31:39+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T11:50:56+00:00","description":"The presence of Russian troops in Belarus raised concern that they could be used to sweep down on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ukie22022.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ukie22022.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/2022\/02\/20\/russia-extends-troop-drills-near-ukraine-as-violence-spikes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/","ad_zone":"news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Russia extends troop drills near Ukraine as violence spikes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","name":"Navy Times","description":"Independent News For Sailors | Navy Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#organization","name":"Navy Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/navy-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/navy-logo-white.png","caption":"Navy Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Navy Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ukie22022.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62734"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62737,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62734\/revisions\/62737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62734"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=62734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}