KYIV, Dec 13 - A further invasion into Ukraine could be costly for Russian forces even if American and NATO troops don’t get involved because of the assistance they’ve already provided to Ukrainian forces, a panel of outside experts said Monday.

“The Ukraine that we have today is not the same Ukraine in 2014 [when Russia invaded Crimea],” said Luke Coffey, director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation, during a panel discussion on tensions in Eastern Europe, the Military Times reported.