We have reason to believe the Russian forces are planning to and intend to attack Ukraine.

Wow, we're prepared to respond decisively if Russia moves on Ukraine.

Russia has said it does not plan to invade even though it has enormous number of forces.

I am pretty confident that Putin really doesn't want war.

Just that shows a Russian attack on Ukraine is now likely.

After weeks of speculation about what Russia would do on the Ukrainian border,

Vladimir Putin has started making moves.

In a speech on Monday, the Russian President recognized two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.

I deemed necessary to make a decision that should have been made long time ago,

to immediately recognize the independence and sovereignty of Donetsk people's republic

and Lugansk people's republic.

Putin sent troops to those regions, not to start a war, he said, but rather to,

quote, keep the peace.

This was a really, really angry speech.

That's NPR's Charles Mainz on the southern Russian city of Rostov-Andan, near the Ukrainian border.

Rostov and Russian here in Rostov and elsewhere woke up this morning to the news and a new reality.

You know, that the Kremlin had taken actions that could lead to war or crushing sanctions or possibly both.

And we now have news that Russian tanks are in these so-called republics as part of what Russia says

is its peacekeeping force.

Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, responded with his own speech late Monday night,

calling the Russian move a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty.

Zelensky is saying here, this is the moment when Ukraine finds out who its real friends and partners are.

...