Pentagon Issues URGENT Warning — Russia's Shocking Move & Ukraine's INSTANT Response | Rachel Maddow Tonight we begin with a development that U.S. defense officials had been watching with growing concern. And I want you to understand something right from the start: this is one of those stories that moved faster than most people outside the intelligence world realized was even possible. This wasn't something that unfolded over months of speeches or visible troop buildups. This wasn't a slow burn that gave us weeks to debate and deliberate. This unfolded over a short window of time—we're talking days, maybe hours in some cases—in which signals changed, patterns shifted, and alarms went off quietly inside the Pentagon before the public ever saw a headline. And when that alarm sounded, when the intelligence became clear, Kyiv did not wait. Kyiv did not convene a committee. Kyiv did not schedule a press conference to discuss their options. They responded. Immediately.