as the u.s. pursues a diplomatic solution to this crisis, it says it is not simply a regional dispute between russia and ukraine, but instead about defending democracy and stopping russia from turning its neighbors into puppet states. the secretary of state said today the u.s. is defending ukraine's freedom. >> that includes those that would impede the sovereign right of the ukrainian people to write their own future. there is no trade space there, none. >> reporter: moscow maintains it has no intention of invading ukraine, but these russian missile systems are heading to belarus for military exercises, and roughly 100,000 russian troops and their weaponry are already massed close to ukraine's border. to the north, east, and south, russian forces are almost encircling this u.s. ally. "we do not expect a breakthrough," said russia's