Radio Free Europe's Mike Eckel is a senior correspondent reporting on political and economic developments in Russia, Ukraine, and around the former Soviet Union. He's reported first-hand on the wars in Chechnya and Georgia and the outbreak of war in Ukraine's Donbas. Eckel recently spent five days on the frontline in Verkhnotorestke, north of the separatist-held provincial capital of Donetsk, with a company from Ukraine's 503rd Naval Infantry Battalion, known as the Badgers. Many of the soldiers were blasé about the prospect of Russia attacking, despite the fact more than 100,000 troops and weapons were gathering along the border with seemingly malicious intent. US president Joe Biden believes the Russians will attack Ukraine within a number of days. Eckel is with us to discuss the simmering tensions along the border and what's likely to happen next.
Footage released by Moscow on 16 February 2022 shows Russian soldiers loading tanks and military equipment on to railway platforms after a drill near Ukraine. Photo: AFP
