Episode Notes:

The frozen conflict in eastern Ukraine has gotten hot in recent days. Four Ukrainian soldiers were killed in an hours-long battle with Russia-backed separatists in the Donetsk region last Friday. At the same time, a large, unscheduled Russian military build up along the border with Ukraine has gotten the attention of military and intelligence officials from Kiev to Washington, D.C.

Michael Kofman — a senior research scientist at CNA and a senior fellow at CNAS — joins the Warcast to discuss what he’s watching for as the crisis in Eastern Europe unfolds.

[ 00:56 ] What's behind the recent flare up in the conflict in eastern Ukraine?

[ 01:32 ] What do we know about Russian force movements around Ukraine and in your view is this a cause for concern?

[ 02:34 ] What will you be looking for in the next few days as far as watching how the crisis unfolds?