Putin on the Ritz

As American and European officials look to meet with their Russian counterparts and diffuse the tense situation in and around Ukraine, the EU has offered the new Ukrainian government $15 billion in aid. (That’s nearly Whatsapp money.)

+ Russian officials continue to insist there are no Russian forces in Crimea.

+ From The Spectator: Ten handy phrases for bluffing your way through the Ukraine crisis. You can string them all together to produce a very self-assured and all-knowing blog post or article on the topic. Why not? Everyone else seems to be doing it.