Please explain 'prompting question' 'ill afford' 1. Does 'prompting question' here mean kind of a pop-out ? A RELATIVE hiatus in the fighting in eastern Ukraine (at least until this week) and a relative stabilisation in the Russian economy are prompting two questions. 2. Is Channel One a Russian TV Channel ? (Condemning EU) As for the supposed threat from the European Union, Channel One news recently instructed its viewers: “Put crudely, the EU started and flourished as a mechanism for redistributing the gains from the collapse of the USSR and former communist bloc. At some stage, however, the flow of resources from conquered markets started to run out and expansion to the east was the only option.” 3. What is 'ill afford' here? Is it 'to initiate/start a war' ? The Kremlin can ill afford a real military clash with the West, but it will claim any signs of Western weakness as victories. Thankshttp://www.economist.com/news/europe/21648678-russias-president-trapped-his-own-strident-anti-western-rhetoric-how-vladimir-putin-tries