Many things have happened this past week, especially toward the end of the week, the new "norm" for events to "happen" just prior to the weekend.  In this manner the events escape most of the public's view.  Case in point to start out with the NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland, and Obama committed 1,000 more American troops to a 4,000 troop increase in Poland and the Baltic States.

It was also announced that air and sea patrols will be increased in the region.  The deputy national security advisor in D.C., Ben Rhodes stated that "continued aggression by Russia would provoke a response by NATO and a greater alliance presence in Eastern Europe."  Already the Western Press is escalating its actions of "demonizing" Russia, likening it to an aggressive colonizing power.  This came from Associated Press, and the skew can clearly be seen:

Russia often depicts NATO as an aggressor whose members are moving troops and military hardware further into former Soviet territory, which it regards as its sphere of influence.

Are NATO and the West not that way?  Take note of the last part of that sentence: "…into former Soviet territory, which it regards as its sphere of influence."

Regards?  It is its sphere of influence, and the West is encroaching upon it day by day.  On Friday, July 8 NATO just took over a missile base in Romania built by the U.S. as a "defense against a rogue nuclear state."  As pointed out previously, the missile defenses can be converted to missile staging platforms for attack in just a few hours.  All of this is happening right in Russia's back door, "former Soviet territory, which it regards as its sphere of influence."  The missile base cost the U.S. $800 million and was activated in May.

Russia's response has been to reinforce its western and southern flanks with more than three divisions of forces, spread apart through the various branches of combat arms, with a heavy emphasis on armor and infantry.  Air assets as well as ground troops have been deployed to these border areas, the staging area being Kaliningrad, Russia's westernmost (and one of its most important) military bases.

Another site has already had the ground broken on its construction in Poland, to be completed in 2018.  Where are the rogue states and rogue threats that are the stated reason for the deployments?  And if that is the case, why are all of the deployments not being made in the Middle East, or in closer proximity to Iran and Hezbollah?

Because the stated reason is a lie, and the West is deliberately attempting to push Russia to her limits and provoke a war.

Apparently Vladimir Putin has taken a leave of absence, as noted in an article on All News Pipeline.  There is much theory and conjecture that it could be for reasons of planning if he suspects actual military confrontation with NATO and the U.S.  It has also been reported that chocolate-king-turned-president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko is moving a large amount of tanks into Eastern Ukraine and the Donetsk region to prepare for an offensive with the separatists and/or Russia.

Such actions could also spur Putin to withdraw and plan, although the former reason is more viable than the latter, and the former scenario could actually contain the actions in Eastern Ukraine.  Another consideration is that the Western hegemony is pushing Finland to join NATO.  Returning to the falsified "news" of the Western media, the reports are always slanted to show Russia as an aggressor without mentioning it is the NATO and U.S. deployments pushing Russia into a corner.

All of which doesn't sit well with Russia at all, as is proven by this statement to a group of foreign journalists by Putin during the St. Petersburg economic conference of June 17 prior to his disappearance:

"We know year by year what's going to happen, and they know that we know. It's only you that they tell tall tales to, and you buy it, and spread it to the citizens of your countries. You people in turn do not feel a sense of the impending danger – this is what worries me. How do you not understand that the world is being pulled in an irreversible direction? While they pretend that nothing is going on. I don't know how to get through to you anymore."