A couple walks past a wrecked Kamaz truck as they flee an area near the Donetsk airport May 27, 2014. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis
MOSCOW (Reuters) - An army assault on pro-Russian rebels in east Ukraine will not have taken Vladimir Putin by surprise, but the ferocity of the clashes may have - and could be a game-changer if they spin out of control.
In the last two weeks, with Western sanctions starting to bite, the Russian president has softened his tone against the pro-European leadership in Kiev and promised to pull troops back from the frontier with Ukraine.
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