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Analysis: Gunboat-diplomacy risks a new conflagration between Russia and Ukraine  

If you were to looking for a time to re-ignite the slumbering conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Sunday would have been a good choice. 

With European leaders preoccupied with Brexit and the president of the United States silent, Russia’s seizure of three Ukrainian ships occurred in a diplomatic vacuum that makes the danger of escalation greater than any time in years. 

Neither side has much to gain from re-igniting the full-on shooting war of 2014 and 2015. But we can expect both Moscow and Kiev to exploit it for political gain. 

At a time when Vladimir Putin’s government is facing a serious slide in approval ratings over an unpopular pension reform, a small but successful tangle with a "Ukrainian…

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