As Russia builds up its armed forces near Ukraine, stirring fears it may invade its neighbor, unrest in Kazakhstan has suddenly emerged as an unexpected challenge for Moscow.

Russia deployed paratroopers to neighboring Kazakhstan Thursday after the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation answered the call from Kazakhstan's leadership to help quell uprisings against that country's authoritarian regime.

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jopart Tokayev has said he is willing to use force to end the unrest, which the president argues are being fueled by terrorists and bandits.

The protests, which have turned violent and seen an uncertain number of casualties, started in response to a sharp increase in fuel prices but have evolved into a broader demonstration of widespread opposition to the regime built by former leader Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Some experts argue that recent developments in Kazakhstan will divide Russia's focus at a time when it may be considering military action against Ukraine if it does not receive its desired security guarantees from the US and its allies and partners in Europe.

"Just as Russia seemed to be poised to invade Ukraine, protests broke out all over Kazakhstan," Alexander Baunov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center, tweeted Wednesday.

"The Kremlin needs to divide attention between the two and manage strategic instability on two fronts," he said.

https://ca.yahoo.com/news/russia-found-itself-facing-unexpected-193808776.html