(CNN) -- Russia's seizure of Crimea last month may have unfolded with a lightning quickness, but Vladimir Putin and the West are now engaged in a much slower match of wits on a chessboard stretching across most of eastern Ukraine. Rather than going for checkmate, both sides now seem content to wait for the other to make a mistake. Putin made a strong first move by placing 40,000 troops on the border -- and separatists, who are not officially linked to Russia, on the ground in Ukraine. Now Moscow is waiting for the pro-Western government in Kiev to try to retake the parts of the east it has seemingly lost. In Russia's eyes, any such move from the capital would legitimize an overwhelming counterattack -- a re-run of the Georgia crisis in 2008, when President Mikheil Saakashvili lost his nerve, shot first, and prompted a Russian invasion.
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Russia and the West locked in match of wits over eastern Ukraine
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Russia moved thousands of troops to border and is accused of stirring unrest in east Ukraine
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Speck: West must unite to pass severe sanctions on Russian regime
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Speck: Ukrainian government attempt to retake buildings could spark Russian invasion
If he is to achieve his main goal, which is to prevent @placeholder from associating closer with the West, Putin will have to move fast.