Ukraine-Russia crisis. Among the Russian tanks of Rostov lined up towards the border: “Let’s enter the Donbass”

BETWEEN ROSTOV-SUL-DON AND AVILO-USPENKA (RUSSIA) – A soldier emerges from the hatch of a tank parked along the roadside, plants himself as if to dominate the horizon, then perches on top smoking a cigarette. He is at the head of a long column of crawlers. The Russian tanks are not just rectangles in the satellite maps that for months have been tracing the increase in troops amassed on the Ukrainian border.