Armed men with their faces covered by balaclavas who say they are pro-Russian Ukrainian separatists but who possess weapons and equipment used to equip Russian special forces.

A convoy of more than 200 vehicles that the Russian government said carried humanitarian relief for people in war-ravaged eastern Ukraine, yet many of the vehicles inspected by customs officials at the Russian-Ukrainian border were nearly empty.

Earlier in August, the Russians reportedly moved military vehicles with “peacekeeping” insignia to the border—a first since the crisis in the Ukraine erupted. At the same time, Russia continued a massive build up of arms and manpower along the border that the NATO secretary general recently termed “alarming.”

Whatever game Vladimir Putin and the Russian government are playing regarding their support of pro-Russian separatists in the Ukraine, it seems to have little to do with shock and awe. Instead, the Russian military’s strategy could be more subtle and rooted in strategic deception.

The term is maskirovka, which in Russian literally means “something masked.” Maskirovka has its roots in the word “masquerade,” a synonym for “disguise.” It is a tactic as old as the Trojan horse … and a favorite of the Russian military.

“The Russians embrace maskirovka because it works,” said James Miller, managing editor of The Interpreter, a daily online journal that translates media from the Russian press and blogosphere into English for use by analysts and policymakers.

The staff at The Interpreter has tracked numerous examples of what they say are maskirovka tactics, Miller told War is Boring. What’s more, what they have found aligns with intelligence reports that NATO has released.

Take the case of the Russian “humanitarian convoy” and the recent appearance of Russian “peacekeeping forces” near the Ukrainian border, both developments within the last few weeks.

“(At the beginning of August,) NATO warned about two things,” Miller said. “They had intelligence indicating there could be an invasion by Russian forces marked as peacekeepers and the Russians might mount a humanitarian mission as an excuse for invasion.”