Putin's hidden army is outfitted for troublemaking and street-fighting, unconstrained by the laws, rules and conventions governing warfare — Putin’s biggest brush-off yet to international order
Heavily armed men in unmarked military uniforms patrol near the airport in Simferopol, the regional capital of Crimea.
Analysts Molly K. McKew and Gregory A. Maniatis for WaPo - H/t @VodkaPundit, blog on PJMedia
Putin is no longer bound by the constraints of nation-state warfare. Years of confrontations with separatists, militants, terrorists and stateless actors influenced his thinking. In Crimea, Putin debuted a pop-up war — nimble and covert — that is likely to be the design of the future.