Does Putin want to attack Ukraine or at least annex Donbass like the Crimean peninsula in 2014?
Is he perhaps even trying to bring about a military conflict with the United States?
The relocation of tens of thousands of Russian armed forces to the border with Ukraine has sparked global concern and, in some cases, wild speculation about the intentions of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After weeks of uncertainty, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the end of the maneuver in the Russian military districts West and South on Thursday, and units would now return to their home bases.
All of this happened the day after President Putin's State of the Union address and two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi offered the Kremlin to speak.
What's behind the spectacle?
And what about the heavy equipment that was carted hundreds of kilometers through Russia and stationed in the south-west and south of the country?
SPIEGEL correspondent Christina Hebel got an idea of the situation near the southwestern Russian city of Voronezh, where the Russian army has set up a new, huge military camp in dacha settlements. "Without Moscow, nothing will be decided in the Ukraine conflict - that is clearly the message of these troop movements," she says, "you can do it, you have the power and you want to show that, that's the Kremlin's message."
In an interview with eight billion host Olaf Heuser, she explains the background to the Ukraine conflict and shows why the neighboring country is so important to Vladimir Putin. “Because the conflict remains unsolved, Putin is gaining bargaining ground with the West. And the announcement of the troop withdrawal does not mean that all parts will really be withdrawn again. You can't speak of the all-clear yet. ”You can
hear the current episode of“ Eight Billion ”here: