After flexing its military might against Georgia, Russia may next set its sights on US-backed Ukraine by trying to foil its attempts to join NATO, analysts say. Already, tensions are flaring, Bloomberg reports. Ukraine restricted the movements of Russian ships in the Black Sea, which are based at a Ukrainian port. Moscow denounced the action as a "serious, new anti-Russian step."
"Russia may find it convenient to raise the level of tension with Ukraine in the run-up to the December NATO review,'' wrote two Citigroup analysts. "If the conflict with Russia decelerates or reverses Georgia's integration with the West, a similar fate could also affect Ukraine.'' (More Ukraine stories.)