Stop Being So Goddamn Humanitarian!

Rapid Trident, the 12-day, 18-country military exercises featuring nearly 2,000 troops, have kicked off outside the city of Yavoriv in the Ukrainian region of Lvov. While officials claim that the drills are aimed at "peacekeeping and stability operations" meant to "ensure a safe and secure environment," observers have questioned the logic of holding large-scale military drills in a country mired in civil war. Moscow has said that the exercises seem to be designed to increase tensions between Russia, Ukraine and the West, and to undermine the Minsk agreements' role in finding a political solution to the conflict.