NATO leaders meet on Thursday amid US intelligence predictions that Kyiv could fall within days and fears expressed by diplomats of upcoming provocation over the "2 Moldovas".
As the death toll mounts and more and more civilians flee the conflict zone, virtual talks will see US President Joe Biden address the Alliance's 29 fellow members, with senior Western governmental figures openly questioning Russian President Vladimir Putin's sanity.
But after a European Union summit in Brussels on Thursday night agreed to tighten economic sanctions on some Russian interests, albeit diluted by key countries with bigger exposure to their consequences, there are fresh worries over Moscow's wider regional intentions.
'Consolidate the Caucasus'
"The feeling is Putin will test, but not invade NATO (territory)," one senior EU figure who preferred not to be identified told The Brussels Times after the dust settled on the sanctions deal.
"Maybe put real pressure on Moldova, to consolidate the Caucasus" region, he underlined.
Another diplomat also speaking on condition of anonymity said Alliance military assets focused for the main part in the Baltic EU and NATO states bordering Russia may need to be "reinforced" around the Black Sea.
"The problem is there are two Moldovas," he said. "The one aligned more to Russia. And the other, the part inside Romania, in NATO and the EU."
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Already, the United States has announced it is moving an additional 7,000 troops into Europe. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is to give a video address at the opening of the summit at around 15:00 CET, after cancelling a 'doorstep' meeting with reporters initially planned at its Belgian HQ.
