russian military movement, the build-up phase of that confrontation is coming to an end. we re now entering into a waiting period in which a major russian offensive could come at any time. a word i use a lot in my reporting right now is limbo. i think it applies not only to ukrainian civilians trying to decide whether they flee or stay or take up arms but also to ukraine s more than 400,000 combat veterans who belong to ukraine s first operational reserve and they could be mobilized within 24 hours to go back to war. i interviewed a ukraine veteran showing me his veteran suitcase and gear laid on the floor ready to go to war at the drop of a hat. as a veteran myself, i can attest and i think many americans understand that for any man or woman who served come back home from war is tough when your war isn t over yet. ukraine s veterans have the added burden of knowing that within 24 hours they could be
air defense drill in western russia 280 miles east of the ukrainian border. russian news reports say the month-long exercises will culminate in live-firing and involved 1,000 pieces of military hardware. the navy destroyer, the usstuxton crossed the strait towards the black sea on route to previously scheduled exercises. they expect to be in the black sea for several days. the head of u.s. military intelligence said the dia, the defense intelligence agency, warned the administration seven to ten days before russia invaded ukraine of imminent russian military movement, pushing back on the notion there was intelligence failure. the pentagon is watching the russian air defense exercised