Is Putin lighting the fuse for war with NATO, the EU, and the US?

As the days tick off towards the upcoming May 9 parade in Red Square in Moscow, John Batchelor (right) informs us that tensions are beginning to run high as,

"NATO and Russia prepare for the end of Minsk II agreement.......... ................

There can now be no doubt that the unstable Ukraine crisis is pointing to the increasing likelihood of confrontation and worse between NATO and Russian forces." (AlJazeera : April 20, 2015) (my emphasis)

Echoing John Batchelor, US House majority leader, Kevin McCarthy, (left) after  meeting  Ukrainian leaders on March 29-31 in Kiev, stated that, 

“Recently, a strong bipartisan majority passed H.Res.162, which expressed the Congress’ support for Ukraine and encouraged greater efforts to provide assistance to Ukraine’s military. 

Having visited Ukraine and spoken to Ukraine’s leaders, I am even more convinced that the United States, our European allies, and the entire free world have a profound interest in standing with the Ukrainian people in their time of need. This conflict is not merely a Russian assault on Ukraine’s freedom and democracy, but an assault on fundamental principles of international law that threatens peace and security in Europe and the international order." (Kevin McCarthy : Mar 30, 2015) (my emphasis)

Vladimir Soldatkin and Alessandra Prentice (left) have reported that,

"The Kremlin said on Friday the arrival of about 300 U.S. paratroopers in Ukraine to train Kiev's National Guard could destabilize the situation in the east of the country, where pro-Russian separatists are fighting Ukrainian government forces." (Reuters : Fri Apr 17, 2015)

What made Putin even angrier is the fact that,

"Five non-NATO northern European states — Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland — have declared with alarm that conflict with Russia is possible." (ibid John Batchelor) (my emphasis)

and that,

"Finland, which borders its former ruler Russia, and Sweden are not members of NATO ... have increased cooperation with the trans-Atlantic alliance, and the joint declaration has been among their strongest responses to Russia's aggression." (Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow and Jussi Rosendahl in Helsinki : Reuters : Sun Apr 12, 2015) (my emphasis)

That dyed-in-the-wool Soviet foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov (left), immediately said on Sunday that,

".... moves by Finland and Sweden toward closer ties with NATO were of "special concern".." (ibid Soldatkin and Rosendahl) (my emphasis)

To which Finnish Prime Minister, Alexander Stubb (right) responded by,

" ...... [calling] the Russian statement "sabre-rattling", but said one should not be startled by it.

"No other country, of course, has a veto over Finland's decisions," Stubb, who would like to see Finland join NATO, told public broadcaster YLE." (ibid Soldatkin and Rosendahl) (my emphasis)

Even more significant, in response to Putin lifting the embargo of the sale of the S300 anti-missile system to Iran arguing that, 

"The S-300, ..... “does not pose any threat to Israel whatsoever. It is a solely defensive weapon.",

Israel has responded that it is,

"...[selling] weapons to the Ukrainian government, which is battling a Russian- backed insurgency in its eastern province" (Jerusalem Post (& Reuters): 20.04.2015)

Added to which,

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (above left) is the latest leader to decide not to attend Russia’s victory parade on Saturday, May 9, to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe." (The Jerusalem Post : 20.04.2015) 

Putin warned Netanyahu that selling weapons to Poroshenko


“ ..... is a choice, a choice of the Israeli leadership; they have the right to do what they consider appropriate. I think it is counterproductive, if it concerns lethal weapons, because it will only lead to yet another swirl of confrontation, to more human casualties, but the result will be the same,” Putin said in an interview on Rossiya 1 TV on Saturday." (Tovah Lazaroff : Jerusalem Post: 18.04.2015)

By issuing his warning to Netanyahu, has Putin finally stepped over the edge into the abyss of an unsuspecting Black Swan event into which he is now falling, by virtue of drawing BOTH Israel and Iran into his war with Ukraine?

Furthermore, that,

"Five non-NATO northern European states — Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland — have declared with alarm that conflict with Russia is possible." (ibid John Batchelor) (my emphasis)

"Moscow [already] sounds resigned to the collapse of Minsk II and another round of combat ..... " (ibid AlJazeera) (my emphasis)

What we now have is

(1) Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland have declared that, "conflict with Russia is possible", 
(2) Israel is selling weapons to Ukraine, 
(3) the US is training Kiev's National Guard,
(4) the pressure on Obama to supply Ukraine with lethal defensive weapons is increasing exponentially
(5) NATO is building up a rapid response force,
(6) and US Gen. Ben Hodges is claiming that Russia is mobilising for a war that they think is going to happen in the near future,

Even the EU is anticipating renewed fighting between Putin's proxies and Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine.

The $64 question is,

"How will the EU respond to Putin's impending invasion of Mariupol?"

(to be continued)