it's already sent tens of thousands of troops to multiple borders with ukraine in recent months, stoking fears it could soon invade. but the unrest in almaty could see russia drawn into an entirely different conflict, one not of its choosing. now, in a statement, the kremlin said president vladimir putin had a lengthy phone call with the president and gave him assurances the system was stabilizing. the question now is given all that happened, can it last? irika. >> sargent: imtiaz tyab, thank you. tonight the uss "abraham lincoln" leads a strike group on its way to the western pacific. the deployment is also historic. cbs news national security correspondent david martin explains why. >> reporter: it's always a majestic site when an aircraft carry sets out to see, but when the uss "abraham lincoln" left san diego this week, it was also an historic site. for the first time ever, a u.s. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was commanded by a woman,