is the pentagon worried russia is planning something else here, maybe another kind of invasion?i think that's exactly right. u.s. officials have been watching, literally formation by formation of russian troops, over 20,000 of them assembling on the border with eastern ukraine. the concern the u.s. intelligence community has is those 20,000 troops are so close, they can now move on a moments notice with no warning. the feeling is they might be positioning themselves to create a land bridge, if you will, from russia across eastern ukraine, down into the crimea peninsula. that will give the russians a permanent foothold now that they have annexed the peninsula. they will be able to continue to resupply, reinforce and move anything they want to in there. that's the big concern. no sign, at the moment, of anybody stopping them. john? >> what do the ukrainian leaders think about this? there aren't going to be u.s. troops there. there won't be nato troops there to stop the russians from moving, if they want to. what would ukraine do if russia did something more provocative? >> well, t

martha: russia is calling these buildups just military exercises. the pentagon is worried about russia setting the stage for something potentially much bigger. president obama urged the russians to pull back. >> what we need to resolve and deescalate this situation is for russia to move back those troops and begin negotiations directly with the ukrainian government as well as the international community. >> reporter: there are big worries in kiev about the russian buildup. but no clear fix on when and if russia might invade. we have been talking to the top national security chief. his assessment 88,000 soldiers poised on the border with ukraine and neighboring crimea. he says he thinks the invasion appears real. he says he does not think the russian president would do it unless he had the cover of widespread protests and unrest like he had in ukraine as a cover. we heard the first comments from ousted president yanukovych since moscow's annexation of ukraine. he called for referendums in other parts of the ukraine. a top military expert explained to me the next few days we

martha: russia is calling these buildups just military exercises. the pentagon is worried

russia now is the time they are going ostrike. and we have to be very, very worried about these scenarios. >> meanwhile, the pentagon has sent its to be negotiator, phillip breedlove, to nato. it is concerned about russia's troop movement along the border. now crimea is under total russian control and troops are being told to leave. jennifer glasse has more from being sevastopol in crimea. >> they didn't think it would end like this. the deputy are prime minister tries okeep credit feelings high, russian soldiers are on watch and ukrainians have to leave. he has lived here more than a decade. >> unlike the russian system, ukrainians usually nerve one place for a long time. they settled here, they bought property and now they have to leave everything, even their property, behind. >> the soldiers worked hard to stay. the ukrainians faced unarmed and demand he it be returned. the russians fired in the air and after negotiations a few ukrainians were allowed to return to their jobs. the uneasy standoff lasted over two weeks. then the russian he kidnapped the commander and held him for five days and he refused. he was released and told

worrying. at the pentagon, chuck hagel described his most recent talk last week with russia's defense minister. >> he told me that they had no intention of crossing the border into ukraine. >> in kiev, the embattled interim government led by the prime minister seen here meeting with a top eu budget official, announced the price of gas will increase by 50% on consumers, 40% for utilities, starting this spring. the move allows ukraine to qualify for a $15 billion aid package from the international monetary fund, expected to be announced later this week. in brussels, president obama urged european allies to diversify their energy sources away from russia, the dominant supplier, and promised help delivering american natural gas developed through fracking. >> it's going to take several years to build that capacity, and importing from the united states is one piece of what would have to be a multi-faceted approach to improving the diversification, and we reducing the reliance. >> both chambers of congress are coalescing around legislation that would codify the sanctions on russia and provide aid to t

barbara, does the pentagon think russia is getting ready to move into more ukrainian territory? >> plenty to worry of the week, defense secretary, chuck hagel called his russian counter part and bluntly said to him, what are your intentions? what are you up to? what are you doing with 20,000 troops heavily armed on the border with ukraine. he said we are here exercising. i have to tell you, behind the scenes, the pentagon, the u.s. intelligence community, watching this literally around the clock. watching those troops because they are so close to the border, basically, all they have to do is essentially drive across. the feeling is the goal, if ordered, may be move into eastern ukraine and establish a land bridge between russia, across eastern ukraine and the crimea peninsula. it would give them the ability to reinforce and step up their troop presence in crimea. it's most interesting, john, after the developments today when the russians took over two crimean bases. calling for the russians to get out of crimea, saying you are there, we hold you responsible. >> you said the united states is watchi

the pentagon says it is suspending all scheduled military to military engagements between the u.s. and russia. >>> the crisis is crying oil and gas prices higher and stocks lower. traders worried oil exports could be disrupted if economic sanctions are imposed on moscow. >>> and the u.s. as suspended trade and investment talks with russia. >>> and lopez urges demonstrators to continue protests against the president in venezuela. the president says the protests are a u.s. supported attempt to overthrow the government. >>> "america tonight" is up next. russia. >> on a special maircht: "ameria tonight,": putin's play and america's power. >> he will be able to show russia's force. >> vladimir putin is an old kgb colonel that wants to establish the old russian empire. >> president obama's critical diplomacy as the divide deanens.

russia. officials worried he may have stolen sensitive information about war plans. cnn pentagonng us now. a lot to break down here. what's going on? >> good morning. let's first talk about who the man is that gave this interview to the national public radio. lieutenant general michael flynn is the director of the defense. all the questions in congress about whether the intelligence community missed the signs of what russia was up to. he says about 7-10 weeks before. he began to see russian trooping moving around. he thought that something might be imminent. he addresses that. the u.s. will be dealing with for years the sensitive information, the potential. he even has information about war plans. have a listen to what general flynn had to say. >> as far as capabilities, are we talking about u.s. war plans? >> are we talking about intelligence gathering methods. what exactly is it? >> it is sort of an all of the above. it is intelligence capabilities, operational capabilities, technology, weapons systems. >> do you thisnk that russia ha access to the kind of materials we are talk

next ukraine's bases in crimea are slipping from its control and why the pentagon is worried crimea is just the start for russian 2009. orbiting the moon in 1971. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection. and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. that's a man interviewino.for a job. not that one. that one. the one who seems like he's already got the job 'cause he studied all the right courses from the get-go. and that's an accountant, a mom, a university of phoenix scholarship recipient, who used our unique --scratch that-- awesome career-planning tool. and that's a student, working late, with a day job, taking courses aligned with the industry he's aiming to be in. ready to build an education around the career that you want? let's get to work. that would be my daughter -- hi dad. she's a dietitian. and back when i wasn't eating right, she got

russia could invade the eastern part of that country. a new classified intelligence report has top officials in washington very, very worried. our barbara starr at the pentagonning, barbara. >> reporter: good morning. the russians have been telling the pentagon, don't worry. it's all just military exercises we're doing. now a senior u.s. military official tells me the intelligence shows no evidence, none, that the russians are actually engaging in exercises. instead what the u.s. has seen is more than 30,000 russian forces on the border with ukraine. a build-up of additional forces further back in russia. altogether it will give the russians, if they decide to move if they do, the ability to move so quickly there would be no warning that it's coming, u.s. officials say. they have armored vehicles. they have airborne units special, forces. the complete capability now to move into ukraine. and it's because of the build-up, no sign of doing military exercises. no sign they are going back home. this is what's leading to the growing concern that they may be about to make their move, if vladimir putin orders it. john? >> very little the u.s. and european allies co

countries like china and russia are further developed but have an area of denial of capabilities. and jamming capabilities, the pentagon is worrieding airplanes in the air and ships at sea and soldiers on the ground who get cut off from communications. they encrypt everything. they are setting up more and more satellites. that they areing seeing more funding go into. they are pretty concerned about trying to maintain the technological edge and to medications and secure communications especially. it has not been figured out yet but it is a work in progress. host: we are talking with paul mcleary from "defense news." he previously served as a senior editor at "defense technology international." he has an embedded several times with u.s. army and marine corps forces. where did you do that? guest: in iraq several times and afghanistan. from we would love to hear members of the military in this segment as we talk about the pentagon's budget plans for 2015. we have a special line for those folks -- we have been talking about the cyber issue. from twitter -- that is a matter of much debate. going to some cyber conference is over the las