Right now, there is a very tense situation developing along the border between Russia and

Ukraine.

It has some people questioning whether Russia is considering going to war.

What we've learned at the Washington Post is that based on US intelligence, officials

believe that Russia has plans to put in place as many as 175,000 military personnel,

which would essentially give Vladimir Putin the ability to invade Ukraine at the moment

that he chooses.

Shane Harris covers intelligence and national security for the post.

What our sources have told us, and US officials have said publicly, is that they don't know

for sure if Putin plans to invade, but what you see him doing right now is putting in place

all of the hardware, the artillery, the military equipment, the supply lines, the medical support,

everything that he would need to move those troops quickly across the border.

From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Postreports.

I'm Martin Powers.

It's Tuesday, December 7.

Today, we're talking about the limitations of American diplomacy.

How the US government is responding to this Russian threat against Ukraine, and later in

the show, the diplomatic boycott of the Olympics in China.

In the days since this news came out about these Russian troops amassed of the border with

Ukraine, there has been this big question of what is the US going to do about it.

And today, President Biden got on a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a readout of that call, the White House said that Biden voiced deep concerns about

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