First the rumor: I have heard from several people that supposedly Ukraine has sent two brigades of its best troops to the SE border opposite Russia’s Glukhov province, and that the Russians are now pushing force to their side of the line. Absolutely no media reports, however, past news said the two brigades were in motion. So that might be something to watch.

As to other developments, some of you will have heard that NATO decided yesterday to send AWACS planes to fly the alliance’s eastern frontier. The planes doing the job will fly from one base in Germany and one base in England, and the route will be the Polish and Romania borders.