As usual, this is all unconfirmed scuttlebutt so WYSIWYG.
* Thermal activity in Naro-Fominsk (near Moscow) reveals that the cold storage armored reserve units of the 4th Guards Tank Division are testing their engines and preparing for movement. This conclusion was reached because for the past twenty years the engines were only turned over a few at a time and then only every few weeks. This is the first time they've all been turned on since an exercise in 1994.
* Rail activity from Russia to the Kaliningrad Oblast via the Vilnius Corridor has increased in the past week with eight unscheduled cargo trains making the transit.
* Anticipated spring-time resupply and reinforcement of Russian Army units in Crimea and Donbass have not yet occurred.
* China is reportedly in talks with Guinea-Bissau with regards to the construction of port and maintenance facilities possibly on one of the county's offshore islands. The potential location indicates with high confidence that China is seeking to establish a naval base on the Atlantic.
* The Russian government is reportedly off balance in its response to the protests over the mall disaster in Kemerovo, Siberia. Official reports say as many as sixty-five people died in the disaster but local protesters claim more than 200 people died. Corruption figures into the disaster due to cronyism playing a part in the mall not needing to meet safety standards.
* The Russian delegation to NATO has had its staff cut to twenty as part of the diplomatic response to the chemical attack in the UK.
* Catalonia (Spain) is stressed again due to the arrest of Carlos Puigdemont in Germany.
That is all.
Agreed. Given that Putin flew to Kemerovo in the midst of an international crisis then I don't believe the import of the mall disaster can be overstated.
This just might be the seminal event that puts an end to the Putin regime.
One would hope so, but don’t hold your breath.