Warnings of a full-scale war and vast troop buildup near the Ukrainian border are giving onlookers more than just a hint of deja vu.

The recent tension has revived memories of the early stages of a conflict that began eight years ago, which saw the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and the start of bloodshed in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east of the country, which still continues until this day.

Russia’s seizure of Crimea had its roots in a long history between the two former Soviet states, but it was a destabilized government and street protests in Kyiv in early 2014 that led to Russian President Vladimir Putin making his move.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/27/how-russia-invaded-ukraine-in-2014-and-how-the-markets-tanked.html

As Ukraine’s struggle against Russia and its proxies continues, Kiev must also contend with a growing problem behind the front lines: far-right vigilantes who are willing to use intimidation and even violence to advance their agendas, and who often do so with the tacit approval of law enforcement agencies.

A January 28 demonstration, in Kiev, by 600 members of the so-called “National Militia,” a newly-formed ultranationalist group that vows “to use force to establish order,” illustrates this threat. While the group’s Kiev launch was peaceful, National Militia members in balaclavas stormed a city council meeting in the central Ukrainian town of Cherkasy the following day, skirmishing with deputies and forcing them to pass a new budget.

Many of the National Militia's members come from the Azov movement, one of the 30-odd privately-funded “volunteer battalions” that, in the early days of the war, helped the regular army to defend Ukrainian territory against Russia's separatist proxies. Although Azov uses Nazi-era symbolism and recruits neo-Nazis into its ranks, a recent article in Foreign Affairs downplayed any risks the group might pose, pointing out that, like other volunteer militias, Azov has been “reined in” through its integration into Ukraine’s armed forces. While it’s true that private militias no longer rule the battlefront, it’s the home front that Kiev needs to worry about now.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cohen-ukraine-commentary-idUSKBN1GV2TY

>>15824675

Q Fever

Apr 16, 2003 (CIDRAP News) – The genetic blueprint of Coxiella burnetii, a category B bioterrorism agent that causes Q fever, has been decoded and analyzed, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced this week.

Q fever is a debilitating and highly infectious flu-like disease that afflicted thousands of soldiers in World War II, NIAID said in its announcement. "C. burnetii is of concern as a potential bioterrorist threat because early diagnosis of the disease is difficult, and the microbe is a hardy organism that can be aerosolized," the agency said.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2003/04/genetic-blueprint-q-fever-pathogen-decoded