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christopher to be the next nato supreme ally commander, he testified on cybersecurity, deterring russia aggression. this hearing before the senate armed services committee runs an hour and 45 minutes.

>> >> your current role as the commanding general of the u.s. army no doubt provides you with critical experience insights which will serve you well in this new role. your career spans nearly 35 years with the distinguish across multiple theaters. with close collaboration with allies and partners around the

world. further, you have studied the challenges in europe, including your current leadership and reassuring nato allies. you have also served as russia director in a joint staff and steadied these issues in academia as well as earning a masters degree in russia and eastern europe is -- european studies. if confirmed you will take command -- the alliance has shown remarkable unity in the face of russia's unprovoked and illegal attack on ukraine. a formidable array of our allies have joined together and response to russia's invasion of ukraine, the u.s. and the nato allies have mobilize to resolve critical combat. and impose recourse on russian elite.

putin's actions have drastically altered the european landscape. countries like sweden and finland have officially applied to join the alliance, others like germany are taking steps to -- taking much greater proportions and institutional energies to improve those capabilities. ensuring the alliance is able to generate and maintain collect force posture and investment will be a primary responsibility. with nato set to announce a new strategic concept at the summit in madrid in june, would like to hear your views on how the united states and our allies should begin to reassess the security environment altered by russia's invasion of ukraine. unlike the threat from russia, there is little disagreement,

our allies have a range of views of the challenges posed by china. beijing's growing economic influence and dip relic presence in europe, coupled -- devil medic presence in europe, may have serious implications for the transatlantic economy and security. in 2018 in declaration stating china is growing influence international policies and opportunities and challenges that we need to address together as an alliance. the next commander has to work with the agency and the alliance. to address the chinese influence across the region. i hope you share what expectations you have in regards to nato's china policy and and what steps can be taken to mitigate this growing threat. as we reflect on the realities of 24th century -- 21st century

warfare in ukraine, the committee like to hear what lessons you bring to repair our -- to prepare our forces for future conflict. particularly in areas such as military mobility, large-scale multilateral exercises and engaging with partners and allies across the theater. i hope you would share how you intend to use such insights if confirmed as a next commander. thank free -- you free willingness to serve. i now recognize working members. >> thank you mr. chairman. i think you and the general for your willingness to continue your distinguished service to our country. i enjoyed reading your wife, parents, other family members -- meeting your wife, parents, other family members, this

morning and how proud they are in your service to this country. you were born in europe during when your father's tours they, it is clear that you were destined to fill this role we are discussing here today. we are considering york nomination to lead the united states and nate -- your nomination to lead united states and nato forces. russia's unprovoked unjustified invasion of ukraine has been a wake-up call to the free world. we need to deter putin, not accommodate him, not appease him as someone want to do. but, to deter him. this was not a surprise to many of us here today who also understand that protecting america's interest means supporting ukraine's defense and working to deter further russian

aggression against nato. i am encouraged that europe is now stepping up to the investment in their own defense with finland and sweden now seeking nato membership in response to putin's reckless acts. we have to keep up this momentum to strengthen our shared security. we have seen what happens in ukraine when deterrence fails. i have long advocated that we invest more in our own defense to ensure that deterrence does not fail. i do not want anyone to forget that china is supporting what russia is doing in ukraine. china has long been involved in maligned activity in europe. general, you're the right man for the job. during these exceptional times i

look forward to working with you on bolstering united states security interest with our european allies and partners. thank you mr. chairman. >> thank you. general, your remarks please. >> thank you, good morning. thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. thank you for the support they you provide to our servicemen and women and our families. i am humbled to be nominated to serve as commander of u.s. european command and the supreme allied commander. i am grateful to president biden, secretary austin, general milley and the confidence they place in me in this term it is time in europe. i must -- tremendous time in europe. i must thank my wife and best

friend christina. being a military spouse is not easy. there are routine separations, conscious moves -- constant moves, and the tragedies of war. she has selflessly supported our soldiers and families even while raising our two sons alex and nick. i am so proud we can share this moment today. i would like to thank my sons, alex graduated princeton and works at a clean energy startup in california. nick is stating physics in the university of california. they attended three high schools each and i cannot be more proud of the young americans they turned out to be. as i talk about my family reflect on my own life. as my -- my dad is an italian immigrant, i was born in a military officer -- hospital during the cold war.

we were blessed with multiple assignments in europe. for the past 4.5 years i have been fortunate to command our u.s. army forces in europe. for the past year, in africa, i've had the priceless opportunity to work with the interagency, our allies, our partners to advance our common national security objectives. for the last three years, i have done so under the leadership of general walters. i would like to publicly thank him for his mentor ship and his leadership during that time. i would also like to thank you, the united states congress and especially this committee. since my first tour as a general officer in europe in 2014, the congress has worked tirelessly to support our service men and women in our mission. the mission you have repeatedly authorized has been absently vital to building the military readiness to deter russia and to respond in times of crisis.

in response to this crisis, the illegal and unprovoked russian invasion of ukraine,, the u.s. military has deployed significant combat power on short notice. an armored brigade combat team, the 18th airborne, a carrier strike group of fifth generation fighters, additional destroyers, all of this has an enabled by the european deterrence initiative, and the hard work and issue of the dbi has engaged over the years. if confirmed, i look forward to build on this vital work to ensure that you can't can -- ucon can respond. russia's unprovoked invasion of ukraine ushers in a new era in

security. nato has been more energizing unified than i have seen in years. our allies and partners have rushed with us to make sure ukraine is independent and free. on the far side, it will be up to us all to reestablish enduring stability. russia is not our only challenge. china's growing influence is also a huge concern, as is terrorism, migration, cybersecurity, climate change. we cannot be a one problem alliance. we must retain vigilance across 360 degrees against all threats. we are at time when unity in the alliance is that the greatest importance. if confirmed i will work closely with his committee and will provide my best military advice with the goal of promoting our security interests in defending the principles we have all fought so hard for over these

years. it has been honored to serve you -- this country or the past 35 years. if confirmed i'll be think for this opportunity to serve along these great men and women. i think this committee for the time today and the opportunity to speak with you and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you very much. there are a series of questions which nominees must respond to. please respond appropriately. will you adhere to applicable laws? >> yes. >> have you assumed any duties that compromise the confirmation process? >> no sir. >> it is important that this committee and subcommittees receive testimonies, briefings, reports and other explanations on a timely basis. do you agree if confirmed to appear to testify before this

committee when requested? >> i do chairman. >> do you agree to give your personal views even if they differ? >> yes, i do. >> do you believe in providing communication in a timely manner when requested by the committee, subcommittees, other appropriate conveys of congress and to consult with a request regarding any good-faith delay on the records. >> yes. >> will you timely respond to hearing questions for the record? >> i will sir. >> will you give briefs in response to congressional requests? >> yes. >> will those briefings be tested from reprisal? >> yes they will. >> thank you very much, general. it is both significant and may be a bit ironic that we first

met in ukraine in 2014 when you were leading the efforts to start organized training efforts and support efforts for ukrainian forces. i think your work then has shown itself to be extraordinarily useful today. thank you for that. part of what you pointed out in your testimony, unity among nato and a commitment to invest seriously in defense. that raises two questions. quick thoughts about how you're going to coordinate the investment of nato countries so everyone does not relax. what should the united states do as a catalyst, also as a leading member? >> senator, if i could start with the second question first, i think the u.s.'s special role

inside nato is to point the way toward the future and demonstrate with our actions how to go about direction. by deploying force we have led the way for nato in this crisis as his example -- an example. as we arm our own military we can create an example of what other nations the alliance can emulate. i spent a lot time talking with chiefs of other european armies, how we arm ourselves and organize ourselves and many of them use those lessons or examples as models for themselves. i think, inside nato, our special role is to be a model and exemplar. how will we coordinate the investment as we go forward? this is always a devilish thing to do. it can be very difficult there is an initiative inside nato

right now to link plans to required structure to national commitment. general walters has begun the and advanced that, it will fall to me if i am confirmed to complete that work, and that work will guide the capabilities and capacities we need from various nations in support of nato's planning efforts. >> thank you very much, general. today, nato and communities around the world have been able to move logistics into europe without any type of interruption. indeed, i think it is a question of how long that might be allowed, but in a potential fight, the idea of uncontested logistics is probably the first thing you throw out. are you preparing for a

situation, in this context or a broader context, fighting to get your logistics forward to your troops? >> we are senator. in the u.s. army, this is a source of significant concern as we look at our plans to reinforce. our forces in europe in the event of a large crisis. when we look at it we divided from the u.s. from port to port. then port to port across the atlantic. then port to the need in europe. each one of those segments carries its own challenges and have different people responsible for solving the challenges. we work with partnership of u.s. trans, and u.s. army to get army forces from port to port. we work with u.s. trans, as well as the second fleet.

and jfc norfork annually stood up command to go from port to port. i am largely responsible with our nato allies and related organizations such as the jordan -- to get from port to point of need. each one gives different challenges, the threat of a kinetic strike or the threat of cyber activity, we work very hard on that, senator. >> you mentioned the issue of cyber. many people are waiting for the shoe to drop. in this present situation, this is an open hearing, are there any comments you like to make about that? >> you are correct that we are waiting for the other shoe to drop. there is capability and capacity that could be used and we are being very village -- vigilant

about that that the ud -- dod. more information would have to be in a classified setting, mr. chairman. >> i think your service only justifies this confirmation, but demands it. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> i appreciate that and i echo your comments about the background of our witness today. we have had an opportunity to discuss a number of things over the years. we discussed the issue of the ukraine grain shortage into spillover effects and my office. there are three questions that come for that. it should be a part of the record that will build today on that issue. first of all, how concerned are you about the food crisis that has resulted from russia blocking ukrainian grain exports

to africa? you know i have had an interest in this for quite some time. secondly, what will be the longer-term security effects of this? what more should we do with our european and african allies and partners to address these problems now? >> senator, thank you, indeed in my role as the commanding general of u.s. army forces in africa this has weighed pretty heavily on our minds. the grain shortages we are's parenting from both russia and ukrainian production being unable to come out of the countries and large-volume were being sanctioned and not being sold are being felt on the african continent. it was felt very quickly. i was recently in kenya. there was a significant impact

there already. we know in other countries such as tunisia the prices have skyrocketed for basic foodstuffs. there is food insecurity in africa that is being provoked by the shortage of grain. it is of great concern. in many cases these are countries that do not need an additional challenge. those additional challenges, we will have to help them with at some point. this will largely be a european concern, because of the close election between african security -- connection between african security issues and european issues. with regards of what do about it, there are many proposals being put out right now. some of them are very positive. we think there are about 22 million tons of grain in ukraine backed up when be pulled out. some of the ports we are

attempting to be used, only does about 90,000 tons a day. the german deutsche bahn has regionally -- recently stepped up, their national railroad agency. they are doing a berlin train left to dedicate -- left to dedicate pulling wheat out of ukraine and into western europe. poland has established a new border crossing regime with germany to a facility that. much more remains to be done, senator. >> very good. general, general walters testified before this committee, and it sounds almost impossible, he said the coming for the troops ability to be deployed from the united states and be up and running less than a week to deter further russian aggression was made possible by the funding

through the european deterrence initiative. this committee spearheaded after this initiative after russia first invasion in 2014. do you agree with his assessment? what ways have you seen the edi to enable our robust response? it is very difficult to understand how this is possible. >> with edi over the past few years the u.s. army in conjunction with u.s. european command has placed large amounts of modern equipment in storage in europe. we have also use the funding to practice flying over and drawing that equip and on short notice. at the beginning of this crisis we got the order to activate and deploy the first brigade of the third infantry division out of

fort stewart georgia were able to do so very quickly. we moved all the troops for days by aircraft. the first troops were putting rounds downrange in less than a week, the end of three weeks every single screwdriver had been issued and they were able to roll anyplace. >> and that would not have been possible, log people not to get was possible, if not for the preparation you had the foresight to ready yourselves. >> 100%, sir. >> thank you so much. >> thank you very much. >> general, congratulations on your nomination. thank you for being here this morning and for your service and welcome to your family as well. you were kind enough to meet recently with senator tillis and i to talk about some nato issues. we also talked a lot bit about

our recent visit to the balkans. we were in bosnia. we talked with the nila terry ship -- military leadership with nato there about some of the challenges facing bosnia. concerned about whether uforce will be reauthorized when it comes up this fall before the u.n.. as we think about the potential for russian meddling in the balkans, they have a history of doing that, and the challenges bosnia faces, can you talk about what the impact would be if the mission is not renewed? >> senator, first of all, russian influence in the balkans israel -- is real. it is not a positive force in mike's current. it is some -- in my experience.

it is something we have to think about constantly. it is an important part of our ability to monitor and help control the situations there. i do believe u4 has an important mandate. if it is not renewed, i believe there must be some effort that takes its place. if i am confirmed i will look into that immediately and participate in the development of options and i look forward to discussing it with you in the future, senator. >> i am pleased to here that. it is important we work with our european partners and ensure that we do not see that mission expire and nothing replace it. thank you very much for that. one of -- you spoke earlier with the center about the challenges of getting the grain out of

ukraine, that is needed in so many parts of the world. one of the biggest challenges has been the russians. they are predominant and the black sea and the inability to dislodge them. i would if you talk a little bit about what we might do there to ulster nato defenses in the -- bolster nato defenses in the black sea and the challenges we face because

>> yes, ma'am. for some time before this crisis, we in the u.s. yukon have been working on strengthening the presence and the role of the u.s. in nato and the black sea area. in the naval forces europe, for example, has been working with high-end new equipment. patriot missiles and high-rise rocket launchers. so we have been looking at things like that in the past and we will continue to do those in the future if i'm confirmed. >> do you think we have an adequate strategy within nato and the u.s. for the black sea region? >> i think inside the u.s. we have strategy, adequate, all strategies have to be assessed, reviewed and updated all of the

time. clearly the current events in the black sea region will require us to go back and make sure we adjust everything for the result of this conflict. i think i can say the same thing for the nato approach, but i will have to wait and if i'm confirmed look into what nato is planning in that regard and come back to you. >> thank you, i look forward to that. the administration recently appointed retired general wolf as the ukraine security assistance coordinator, which i think was a positive move. can you talk about how the relationship with the general as the coordinator will work as you think about your role in coordinating security with ukrainians? >> only briefly because that is still working its way out. we encouraged the efforts to coordinate. that is one of the difficult things in this overall collective effort. i saw terry wolf a few weeks ago

and we had words about it but if i am confirmed i look forward to working with him to make sure these systems work together sleep. closely. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> general, congratulations, thanks for your career of service and your wife and family for your service, the defense of this nation is a family affair. i want to discuss the request by finland and sweden to join nato. that is a political decision that will be made by the president in the senate as well as 29 other nato members, but it is a alliance and i would like to get your professional military judgments on the implications of adding sweden and finland to nato. what do you think it will do to bolster our common defense to have sweden and finland as

members of nato? >> i look forward to the accession of finland and sweden to the alliance for the military perspective. each of those militaries bring capability and capacity to the alliance from day one. for example, finland has a large army, well-equipped, very well trained and quickly extensible, exercised frequently and absolutely expert in defending the borderline it has with russia for these past decades. the expertise they demonstrated in 1939 and they have built on it since. finland in addition to its army has fighter jets and has decided to buy 64 f-35's. they will arrive bringing capacity and capability to the alliance. sweden is the same, a smaller army but a capable army and one that is growing. my colleague has a 200% increase in his acquisition budget over a five-year period.

they recently bought patriots and are contemplating other equipment. we work with them closely. they bring a navy in the baltic sea, which will be of enormous military significance to the alliance. if we look geographically with the accession of those companies, the entire black sea with the exception of a few kilometers will be coastline of nato nations which will create a different geometry in the area. >> i think you mean the entire baltic sea. >> i am sorry, of course. >> can you speak about what it means for russia's baltic fleet to have the northern shores of the gulf of finland apart from

nato since the southern shore already is and what it means to have a large swedish island in the middle of the baltic fleet? what does that mean to russia's bolton -- baltic fleet? >> it provides geometric dilemmas russia does not have right now if eight so forth from st. petersburg and leningrad. it will be advantageous. >> you mentioned another key feature, the 800 mile border finland has with russia. some might say this exposes nato to more risk because you have this border. it sounds like your perspective is rather than exposing nato to risk, and exposes russia to greater risk and complement -- complicates defense spending. >> i do think that for a couple of reasons. russia has not historically put too many ground forces on the border. it has been an economy of forced theater because they thought they had a relationship with finland that allowed them to do that. this allowed russia to concentrate ground forces in other places. that possibility will now go away for russia.

in addition to that defense as i mentioned, they are expert in defending that border. i have gone on a snowmobile with the chief of the border guards and the finish army down half the length of that border and i was impressed at their ability to defendant. >> do you think the russian general staff is fairly well-versed in the history of the winter war which you alluded to in 1930 and 40? >> i know they are. that is studied not just by western armies as a model of how to beat a larger force but studied by the russians as an important lesson to learn from their past. >> sounds like you think that even 80 years on the russian general staff might not want to put their hand on their hot

stove again. >> i would hate to put myself in their head but i would not do it if i were them. >> there was a report in the wall street journal that the ministration is considering sending forces to guard the embassy in kyiv. >> i can't comment publicly on that but we currently do not have any marine security detachment with the embassy in kyiv and with regard to special forces, we would have to talk about it. >> you answered my next question, which would be do we have marines at that embassy, which we have in pretty much every other embassy around the world. i just checked. we you have marines in moscow. yet we don't have them guarding our embassy in kyiv. it is their job around the world and i think that is because the president came out last year and publicly stated he would never put troops in the ukraine. now the minister should is running like a cat chasing its

tail trying to figure out how to let these marines do their job at that embassy just like in moscow and at five diplomatic facilities in china. i think we should let the marines do their job at the embassy. this is another instance in which i am afraid the president is self deterring in a public fashion which is sending the wrong signal to putin. you don't have to respond but you can take under advisement think the marines should be standing guard at the embassy when you get confirmed. >> thank you, senator. >> thank you, senator cotton. senator, please. >> thank you, we are grateful for your service. in visiting allies, we talked about article five and when that gets triggered after a cyber attack. do you have views about what

level of cyberattack on a nato ally would trigger an article five requirement? >> this is an active debate inside the alliance. it is an active debate for most countries in fact two. that debate has been joined but not come to a conclusion inside nato yet. believe there are various levels of cyberattack. as you point out. at some point, they become more akin to a kinetic attack than others. one comp getting thing i think we have seen in the recent past is the activity of nonstate cyber actors in the same timeframe as the states are contemplating cyber defense. i believe attribution will continue to be one of the most important parts of any cyber policy. >> with regard to russia's cyber

threat specifically to forces in europe and allies in nato, what steps are you taking it will take if confirmed to ensure that our i.t. network, mitigation channels, weapons and platforms are able to perform if intended in the event of a broader conflict? >> in my current role under of the u.s. army in europe and africa, i'm responsible to provide the basic secure backbone for communications. i work with this and with the army cyber and network command to do so. we have a regional cyber center. it does maintain overview of one of our networks and i work closely with our network command to maintain this in defense of the others. this is something i get briefed on every week and i am satisfied with the level we have now. we have to work on it constantly and we do work on it constantly. in a broader sense, if i'm confirmed into the next job, the alliance is working in this direction also.

there is a nato cyber center of excellence. we are initiating conversations necessary to have collective policy and strategy on network defense. but i believe more needs to be done. i look forward to looking into it and getting back to you. >> thank you. last week, finland's parliament overwhelmingly voted to join nato following applications by finland and sweden to join. given the border finland shares with russia and its advanced military capabilities, can you describe how it can integrate into the nato umbrella? >> first, we practice that in the ground domain all the time and i can speak for bob burke and another at u.s. air forces europe and they do this all the time. we exercise with finland, i have soldiers there i believe now, i

brought a couple of stryker companies back. we have a parachute battalion going up there later this summer. we exercise frequently with sweden to include on high and air and missile defense. i think it will be quite easy for us to integrate them quickly . we have been integrating them in our large-scale exercises as well as operations abroad for some years now. >> turkey has expressed hesitations about admitting finland and sweden. how are you approaching engaging defense officials in turkey to discuss how the addition of finland and sweden will strengthen the nato alliance? >> the core of the matter will be a diplomatic and policy decision on all nations part. i would like to stay away from that for a moment. but at a military level, we retain a military to military relations with our turkish allies and we have done so for the past years i have been

associated with working in europe. we conduct exercises with them, consultations, and the like. >> but not with regard to the rejection that turkey articulated. >> specifically with regard to that, that has not been a subject inside the military to military dialogue. at least my dialogue with the chief of their army. >> thank you. my time has expired. i will submit an additional question to the record about alignment and work with space comp. >> i look forward to it. >> thank you, senator gillibrand. >> good morning, thank you for your continued service to our nation and to your family for their support. i would also like to thank you for taking the time to meet with

me earlier this week. you are incredibly qualified for this assignment and i intend to support your nomination. general, the fy 23 budget request increases funding for the european deterrence initiative by about $400 million. this initiative has been pivotal in our ability to respond as quickly as we did in ukraine. from your experience, can you speak to the importance of this initiative, and if confirmed, what changes would you make? >> thank you, senator. so the european deterrence initiative has not just been important. it has been like oxygen to us for several years. it allows us to do all of the exercising to build the infrastructure, to pre-position all of the equipment we have been using and that you have seen as use in response to this crisis.

since my first tour as a general officer in europe when the original eri was authorized and appropriated, we have been benefiting from it. we have used it to put infrastructure into place where we are pre-position in equipment, and now we exercise that equipment at a large scale with the funding this committee authorizes. it is vital to what we have been doing and i think we see the benefits in our rapid ability to react in the past couple of months. >> thank you.

your answers to the advanced policy questions, you mentioned the joint force must be repaired to counter threats posed by rapid technological advancements such as advanced chemical, oil logical, and nuclear or cbr and threats. quantum computing, robotics, hypersonic's, quite a list. based on your experience, what developments are you seeing regarding those threats, particularly those pertaining to quantum computing and artificial intelligence? >> thank you. the ability to process the vast amounts of information that are available now really drives our ability to discern intentions as well as to find ways to strike it. there are a few efforts of the u.s. side has been working on with regard to artificial intelligence. we are using a couple of those in europe during this crisis. they are proving very useful. they help us keep track of where everybody is and what they're doing. if i could take it into a classified setting sometime, i would be delighted to go into more detail. but it is paying big dividends already.

we are aware our adversaries are working on the same things so it is more imperative for us to continue to develop this technology. >> you're saying they are a threat with regard to those new capabilities. >> i think the nds has it right, especially china is a pacing threat with regard to those capabilities. >> what lessons in response how been learned that should be applied to the overall joint force? >> that cbrn force we are using -- at the service level and in conjunction with the combat and commands. i have had my chance to review the army part and we are updating it with regard to what we understand, the emergence of the threat but secondly with regard to our own posture and

technologies to deal with the threat. as you know, for many years in afghanistan and iraq, that was not the primary concern. as we move back into contemplating large-scale operations, we find it necessary to revisit that. >> this has worldwide responsibilities with respect to the planning and operation of nato military operations. >> if confirmed, how would you view your role with regard to china? >> china is present in europe and is going to present increasing security challenges inside europe. my job will be to make sure that our policymakers have military options insofar as they need them or choose to employ them. >> thank you, my time has expired. >> thank you, senator. senator warren, please. >> thank you mr. chairman and general, it is good to see you again, congratulations on your nomination. your deep expertise in european affairs makes you particularly qualified to serve in this role at this critical time.

it is clear that vladimir putin never anticipated that his illegal invasion of ukraine would unite so many countries around the world. this committee primarily focuses on our military power, but the crisis has made clear how important it is to invest in all of our tools of influence to advance u.s. interest, prioritizing diplomacy in coordination with our allies has obviously paid huge dividends. diplomatic success however does not happen overnight. this is the result of long, time-consuming investments. let me start by asking, general, you think it is important for the united states to provide robust funding for the state department and usaid? would you

-- department and usaid? would you like to say an extra word? >> absolutely. the united states like many nations attempts to lead with diplomacy. for diplomacy to be effective, it can't happen at the moment is needed. it has to be developed over years of relationship building and that requires resources. i benefits as an officer when our diplomacy is robust. i benefit as an officer and i think we benefit as a nation when our diplomats are harmed within need to be to conduct the business of the nation. >> i appreciate effective climate change is another major security challenge. we need to work harder on it. the most recent annual threat assessment found, and i want to

quote, "climate change will increasingly exacerbate risk to u.s. national security interests." the world is dependent on fossil fuels and authoritarian petroleum and petro states. it undermines our interests and safety. your response to the policy questions so that climate change will be a critical consideration in all we do. can you elaborate on that? >> sure. first, our national defense strategy with that out. it is something we have to consider in everything we do. but right now i am responsible for army activities in africa. africa suffers from the certification -- desertification. lack of resources, new your location, you can find it. the grain shortage is exacerbated by drought in india.

all this is having an impact inside aor in africa which will spill out into other areas and i take it seriously. if you look at europe, the arctic is changing and the military geography of the high north, which nato and others are dealing with now. >> i appreciate your thoughtful response. this is a crisis that often gets overlooked in national security and is betting to all of us. over the past two months, congress has provided tens of billions of dollars of emergency spending to support the response

to the russian invasion, i am in support about spending but i'm concerned about the risk of waste. this committee is owed a backlog of several years of reports on the defense plan for the european deterrence initiative. i have spoken to your predecessor and dod on the importance of writing is reports. a letter i received from the controller last week claimed another component of dod will provide the report. i am sick of the runaround. dod has not complied with the law. not having these reports hurts oversight and planning for your command. general, i understand this is not your primary response ability. but you will be the senior military leader overseeing the spending.

will you make sure this committee receives the reports required by law this year? >> i will submit all the data i am required to. >> i appreciate that and will hold you to that. it's likely you and the president will come again with additional requests. if you want congress to approve tens of billions of dollars, you need to show us how you are making sure that money is spent responsibly. >> if i could make a comment, and is not lost on me how much money we're talking about here. i and we owe it to the american taxpayer to have a thoughtful application of those funds and a full accounting above.

>> i appreciate it and look forward to the reporting. thank you. >> senator tillis from ablaze. >> thank you, with regard to the time you spent with a senator a week or so ago, congratulations on your nomination, i look forward to supporting it and thanks to your family. you cover the landscape by linda -- finland very well and discussed sweden. he mentioned the investment sweden intends to make in their military and we want them to get to the 2% threshold. can you give insight into the specific actions taken that would give us confidence they will be there by 2028? >> they have express the intention to do so, and i conversations with major general roxanne, best the major general, -- the major general, the chief of the smidge army, he says they will get there. >> what would that look like? i

have met with swedish officials almost every week or past month and one, they made is that they fully intend to do it, but they also have to be able to absorb the investment. with respect to the avid investment, while likely to look like in terms of brown, naval and air force? >> he adopted 3, 2, 1, the key part going up to key brigades, adding an additional one. that is a big chunk. the second is to add capabalities.

they bought their first battalion, it has been delivered in the past year and those are purchased quickly but help us lift defense spending. i think the combination of expanding the size of the army and raising the technology of the couple of the things like the air and missile defense will help. i can't speak quite as in detail about how they will use or absorb additional funding and maritime domains. >> you can talk about the advantage sweden brings in terms of naval presence in the black sea. >> sure. sweden has ports on the baltic sea and naval forces that fail on the baltic sea. they have something referred to as the unsinkable aircraft carrier.

they will bring an enormous amount of surface capability to us in the baltic sea. they also have underwater capabilities that will help us as well. >> excuse me. the funding we approved and that i voted for, the supplemental funding for ukraine, do think it was wise to send that to ukraine? >> i think we will put that to good use. we will put that to good use. >> can you speak about how the food assistance and broader scope of the bill focusing on the threat to food sources in north africa and what would happen if we don't pay attention to that in terms of stability and area isis, boko haram will

look to see destabilized? >> absolutely. those groups feed on the and food insecurity, corruption and poverty. just like groups elsewhere in the world. they've been doing fairly well, they have made gains in the southwest that we need to keep an eye on and that our allies in europe need to help with. a food shortage would exacerbate the situation down there. >> thank you. the last thing the senator and i talked about in serbia, kosovo, i got the sense of speaking with those leaders that they felt they have been on the back burner in terms of our focus. what more do you think we need to do, if any, to increase our presence which demonstrate we are concerned with that part of the world? >> i think the first thing we can do is exercise and increasing basis. the u.s. army, europe defender

exercise series focused on the baltics last year. it has an effect immediately, i could see that. we were warmly welcomed every place we were. i think at the beginning, as a first step we need to continue. >> i look forward to supporting your nomination. >> thank you. >> thank you, senator king, please. >> welcome to the committee and congratulations on your point that. i believe one of the most support and folks written in the 20th century was the guns of august, the thesis was that we stumbled into world war i muskogee elation, mistake, misunderstanding and a complicated web of treaties in europe that led to a world war no one wanted. how do we communicate to the russians the defensive nature of

nato? my concern is what we view as deterrence and reassurance they could view as provocation, particularly in light of dealing with a country that is paranoid. putin clearly think there is a danger of an invasion by nato. talk about how we diminish this substantial risk of a miscalculation. putin made huge miss cap galatians in ukraine. what if you make similar ones

about what we are doing in poland, finland and sweden -- give me some insight into the danger of miscalculations in ukraine. >> the danger of a mistake or muskogee elation looms very high in our consciousness every day u.s. ucom. we have a process by which we review every investment we are conducting in order to gauge how it will be viewed by our adversaries and russia in particular. whether we should proceed, given our various goals at that point. it is a delicate balance. and it is delicate because one must not shy away from activity we need to do to stay strong and to make sure we outline our priorities of what we will defend, but it is also necessary not to overdo that and create a problem where a problem was not. we worked very hard on that and clearly we have not hit that point yet. >> i want to be clear, i support the opinion reassurance initiative, i support what we

have done in ukraine and what we are doing in poland and eastern europe, bringing new countries into nato. i think the important thing here, and we talked about diplomacy earlier, is to communicate this is defensive. i think that is an important point and my follow-up question is do you have, as supreme commander of nato, you have a communication link with your counterpart in russia in order to de-escalate not a conflict but a potential conflict? >> to continue with the last point, if i may, transparency, that communication is vital. in my position now, when we conduct our large-scale exercise, we go to the osce. they outline the objectives, major movements.

i should add transparency to my previous answer. >> to the russians? >> to the russians and to everybody. >> do you have a red phone? >> the supreme allied commander has that. >> that is reassuring. we are supportive of the arms and support we have been giving to the ukrainians, humanitarian and military. looking beyond the current conflict, there will be a huge amount of arms in this relatively small country. we spent 30 or 40 years chasing things we gave to the group in afghanistan.

is there accountability over where these weapons are in where they might be? it worries me, not the ukranians but they could fall into malfactors in the region. >> accountability for that equipment is is vital. it is challenging because we are not in the country, but as the conflict winds down or concludes, that will be one thing i have to get out, especially if confirmed. i share your concern. >> thank you. >> thank you. sullivan, please. >> thank you mr. chairman and general, thank you and your family. i appreciated our discussion

yesterday. i believe you are exceptionally qualified for this position. i would like you to brag if you don't mind, can you let the committee and the american people know some of your background and experiences and education as it relates to russia? >> asking me to brag is the hardest question you could ask. [laughter] >> we want you to brag. i want you to. very impressive, russia focus, education. >> i graduated in princeton 19 and seven where do not look in russia, i graduated with a degree in biology. i entered the army and stationed in italy with the battalion. in that role we study russia because that was our main opponent during the end of the cold war.

as i cannot accompany command, -- i became a russian foreign dutch officer. >> you speak russian.

>> i do. i have posters for the georgia virtual center in germany. i was on the russia two for the joint staff. >> so that is every day, getting up and focusing on russia, challenges. >> absolute. >> i would say you are vladimir putin's worst nightmare and could not be more qualified than any other member of the military. again, i want to thank you for your service. could you define our strategic goals in ukraine? >> we want ukraine to be free, we want nato as strong as ever and we want to do these things without engaging in a war with russia. >> thank you. there is discussion about nato being energized, unified. i'm a supporter of nato, i was at nato headquarters after the invasion in february and it was a big supporter of edi. finland, sweden sessions, support a robust military, is appointed the president put forward a budget that cuts defense spending in real

dollars. supported u.s. economic and military aid since february, $54 billion. but i want to say, and hopefully -- there is grumbling. my constituents in alaska are probably the most promilitary constituents, americans in the country. but grumbling late to this question. why is the u.s. is spending more to defend europe then europe is spending? and by that i mean, dating back to president george w. bush, president obama, president trump, president biden, all have put forward this goal of 2% of defense spending as a percentage of gdp which was agreed upon in the whale summit in 2014 by all members. right now, eight members out of 30, down from last year, have met that goal. very wealthy countries, sweden, canada, germany, france.

many of them are not even close to meeting that goal. what can we do? isn't it now or never that the nato countries should meet this goal? i don' believe this is a sustainable situation. we are doing all we can, but the american people are saying where's everyone else, how can these countries can't meet this goal? i'm working on legislation but say of nato countries do not meet these goals in five years that congress will not put out dollars for training and deployment of those countries. what do you think of something like that, and if confirmed will you be focused on assuring these countries understand we are a democracy, too? at a certain

point market people are going to say enough. >> i'm a -- believer that says nations should spend at least 20% on modernization. -- it is a great moment, if confirmed part of rado will be to help diplomats and the agency of the united states to convert those good intentions into facts. >> what about legislation i'm working on? >> i would rather not comment on legislation if you don't mind. >> thank you. >> thank you, senators sylvan. --- sullivan.

>> thank you. i ask the following questions. since you became an illegal -- a legal dult have you had any sexual requests or committed any assault of any nature? >> no. >> what countries are taking in the millions of refugees from ukraine? >> that is an amazing story and heartwarming. as you know, early on, my command was directed to prepare for assistance for americans coming out. but we anticipated needing to

help with the refugees. we correctly anticipated about 6 million refugees in europe. it was unnecessary. the people of poland, romania, hungary and slovakia have opened their doors and hearts to ukrainian refugees. i have local national employees in poland, three have ukrainian families in their homes. has been remarkable. >> it is amazing and heartwarming. even as we talk about the monetary commitment to nato come up there are many ways our european allies are stepping up regarding ukraine. i"m glad senator sullivan asked you to talk by your background. it is impressive and i think your highly qualified for this position.

if you like asking you to answer some questions in russian, but that is ok. it is a difficult language to learn and i commend you for that focus. a delegation is set to travel for talks with allies, quoting from the state department, regarding the atrocities in ukraine and in an effort to bring them to joseph. how will you assess the international criminal court for the alleged war crimes in ukraine, holding russia credible? >> i will talk about that anytime. this has been an issue considered in our policy making

circles for some time and i would have to follow u.s. policy. >> it is important for russia to be held accountable for the atrocities they are committing and of course this unprovoked war on an independent country. last saturday, president biden signed a package of assistance to ukraine. this includes systems ukrainians need to protect themselves. how will you ensure a continuing coordination of the rapid transfer of u.s. resources and weapons of ukraine and consider the country's future to consider the defense needs against russia? >> i will continue to execute the way it is being executed right now with improvements and

modifications as we move forward. currently at a policy level coronation consults with other nations on what it might contribute. we hand that to u.s. logistics and command. and although u.s. deletions come to the hands of my forces in southeastern poland and they move it into the right location. we will continue to do it that way. i think the accounting of all of this will be of great importance. understanding where everything is and being able to account for the money that has been provided will be an important part if i'm confirmed. >> yes, as a senator, warren also mentioned there will be so much money that will be needed to help ukraine and the aftermath. yes, we need to make sure this money is going where it is

supposed to go for the purposes for which we are appropriating funds. thank you. i have other questions i will submit for the record. >> thank you. senator? >> thank you. good to see you, i enjoyed our conversation the other day and congratulations on your nomination. let me start with nato, which is the top of the conversation. we may be considered to vote on nato expansion, you talked about this with me when we met. you are familiar with the wales pledge. our current ambassador, julie, sent me a letter saying it was her opinion nato allies should spend more than 2% of gdp on defense, going beyond the pledge. vice chairman said the same, assistant secretary of defense also said the same, that allies

should go beyond the pledge. let me ask in your personal opinion now, is it time for nato allies to move beyond the pledge and increase defense spending above 2%? >> i liked the ambassadors formulation. she has been saying 2% is a floor, not a ceiling and i agree with that. i know all of the land forces chiefs in nato. each of them has a list of requirements. it would all take more than 2% of gdp. so i am an advocate of spending more than 2%, at least 2%. >> good. thank you. when we talked last week, you said you did not expect the admission to nato to require forces. i've seen that sweden is

requesting a greater u.s. naval presence in the baltic sea and reports to keep 100,000 plus troops in europe for the future. i want to revisit the topic you have discussed in light of those reports. how confident are you that finland and sweden's assessment to nato would not result in u.s. forces doing more in europe than we are currently obligated to under our current nato commitments? >> 100,000 forces in europe that are being extended are part of the search we have performed over the last few weeks and was not related to the question of finland and sweden joining nato. i remain of the opinion, as i told you in our office call, that at least in the ground domain, this is not going to be a requirement for large additional forces. i think exercises and occasional presence like with any ally will increase. >> different requirements, do

you think? will this necessitate a shift in posture by our forces or nato forces? >> i don't know right now and i would point out that the word basing carries with it an enormous number of implications i would have to consider deeply before i came back to you with the response. >> since you mentioned coming back, if confirmed would you commit to providing the committee with the full account of the implications for u.s. forces in europe should they join nato so we can consider that as part of any debate we might have in this chamber over nato expansion? >> i would be happy to do that if confirmed. >> thank you.

on this topic, burden sharing, you and i have talked about this with our nato allies and these are the what we need to do in the pacific with china, we're going to have to do more sharing with our allies is my view in europe if we are going to focus as we need to on pay. do you think our military allies should rely on this in europe, with us providing nuclear assurance, but europe focusing on everything else as we shift resources to china? >> i think it is imperative as we look at the emergence of the threat of china for us to find ways to be able to handle the acute threat of russia in a collective fashion with the alliance that allows us to do that. there are a number of different ways that could play out.

almost all of those ways include increased burden sharing on the part of the alliance and other members of the alliance i should say. but they also depend on what the security situation in europe is like at the end of this conflict. really, this conflict and the way it comes out is going to drive and lots of my answer to your question. it is premature for me to talk about it. >> my time is expired so i will ask my last question and let you answer and yield. what are some capabilities we provide in europe that you think european allies could feasibly contribute going forward? >> some things we provide our heavy equipment and armor, our allies could provide some of that. in many cases it should be modernized first or in larger quantities. we provide long-range fires and logistics.

we would encourage those capabilities across the alliance and probably increased air and missile defense would be welcome in terms of capability. >> thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to follow-up on the senator's line of questioning. great to see you, again and thank you for your willingness to continue to serve our nation. this presents unique and difficult challenges and it is clear the conflict in ukraine will have a lasting impact on the future of european security. i think it is important to continue to look ahead and i appreciate the discussion we had in my office last week. we talked about the ukrainian military needs looking forward,

from equipment to training to structural reforms, it is clear these things are going to take some time. i feel if we want to deter further aggression the onto this conflict from putin or somebody like him in the future, we need to start thinking about this right now. as we think about the future of the ukrainian air force, i think centerpiece is not going to be the mick 29. it needs to be something like the f-16, that might be a good option. over the last two years we have sold some of these to our partners in the middle east, and in the state of arizona, the 162nd air national guard ring

-- wing has extensive training with foreign pilots. they do that, the transition in slovakia from obsolete and ineffective aircraft to the f-16. can you provide thoughts on how the u.s. and our allies can help modernize ukraine's military to deter future aggression, specifically with looking towards the air force? >> thank you, senator. yes. as with a previous question, i think ukraine's military requirements at the end of this conflict are going to depend on what the shape of the security landscape is at the conclusion of the conflicts. and what threat they face and how much threat they face. the first thing i would say -- the second thing i would say is the aide we are giving is

important and it is important to what they are doing but it will require rationalization on the far side. there will probably need to be a homogenization of the fleet. with regard to the air domain, i think ukraine is going to have to sit down with us, examined the security situation and sketch out a strategy for a way ahead. i can't say what it would look like now but i do look, if i'm confirmed, to coming back and talking about it in the future. >> i appreciate that. they're going to be a lot of tough decisions, certainly the agreement, whatever the final -- depending on how this concludes, it is going to play a big role in with the security cooperation looks like.

and what the reforming of the military looks like in future years. another issue we discussed was the possibility of permanently basing more u.s. troops in eastern europe, an issue many of us have advocated for and there are multiple factors to consider when making this sort of decision. what are your thoughts on the possibility of permanently stationed u.s. forces in eastern europe, and where would you right now -- where are you starting to think about where they could go, and the reason is to deter future russian aggression. >> as we flowed additional forces in over the last few

months and as nato has repostured nato forces, multinational forces over the past couple of months, what has been happening is the center of gravity of the nato force has been shifting eastward. depending on the outcome of the conflict, we may need to continue that for some time. with regard to how those guys are source, how are those soldiers sourced, permanently, a lot of questions are surface questions and policy matters are there. i will have a voice if i'm confirmed but there will probably be about going into that. >> in poland and germany, especially with the polls it will be an important conversation to have. they are very interested in a stronger alliance and a possibility of a commitment to u.s. forces in poland. >> we discussed that frequently. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you.

thank general cavoli. welcome to the committee. thank you for your service. i have had a number of questions related to ukraine but they've been asked and i don't want to ask you to keep repeating answers to questions related to that. i have a few other questions in some outside areas. the u.s. special ops command in europe and out of the basing of a new special operations headquarters in albania just weeks prior to the russian invasion of ukraine. my question for you is, in conjunction with the command's efforts, how d.c. nato and eucom come segmenting this increased partnership? >> senator, last year we conducted a large portion of the

defender large-scale exercise in albania. it was the u.s. army -europe exercise. it was augmented at a critically augmented by the u.s. navy and naval forces in europe and air forces in europe. it had a huge effect, a huge, positive effect. on the back of that, we have increased activities with our albanian allies. if i am confirmed as the commander, i will continue to pay close attention to the levels of our presence and the amount of interaction we have with our allies and our partners in the balkans. i think it is important. >> that is great to hear. to stay with the theme of partnerships, i am proud to represent the michigan national guard state partnerships in latvia as well as liberia, two programs that i expect well given your current position as commander of the u.s. army both in europe and africa.

my question is if confirmed as commander of the most powerful alliance in the world, how will you leverage the national guard programs to achieve your objectives? >> senator, in my current role, we use and leverage state partnership programs every day. if i am confirmed, you will be able to add me to the list of combatant commanders who love the state partnership program. i have a two star deputy from the national guard and he liaise is constantly with the tags who have state partnerships in our area. it is absolutely invaluable the depth of the relationships they have, the continuity of relationships they have has all been very, very important to us in crises as well as in peace time. if i am confirmed as eucom commander, i look forward to

adding the air guard portion of that to my portfolio. >> that is great to hear, general cavoli. on sunday, the leaders of armenia and azerbaijan announced a border commission as a possible step forward towards a peace plan in the nagorno-karabakh. while russia has made it very clear to the entire world that its words and its commitments can cannot be trusted as a result of their horrific actions that we're seeing in ukraine right now, but having said that, they did play a role in the discussions in the nagorno-karabakh region. so my question for you is, if confirmed, how do you see you eucom and nato influencing conditions to enable peace in the nagorno-karabakh region, ben russians' involvement in that area. >> senator, that is a prickly question. in general i have spent quite a

bit of time down there and studied it and dealt with our partners down there. every issue has several different angles on it. the russian angle always needs to be considered. in any given proposal or any situation. if i am confirmed, i would sit down and examine it closely from all angles before coming up with my recommendation. i recognize how delicate that area is and how many interests are at play. >> absolutely. and while nato enlargement increases the collective capacity of our defensive alliance, it also increases some of the complexities behind maintaining a unified front as i am sure you are well aware. a significant example can be seen by turkey's concerns regarding finland, sweden's session into the alliance. my question for you, if confirmed, you will serve as nato's supreme allied commander.

how do you see fostering an environment that continues to promote unity and cohesion among a very unique and sometimes very different member nations? >> senator, in terms of fostering the right climate, the first step is to remember that the military arm of nato is only one part of nato. it is a military organization under collective civilian control. the second thing i would say is, always remember that each of those service chiefs represent a sovereign nation's army or a sovereign nation's military enter treat them with the respect accordingly. and then finally, to consult with routinely and to build consensus as i can. >> thank you, general. thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator scott, please. >> thank you, chair reid.

>> general, thank you for being here. thank you for your service and thank you for the visit we had. just recently i went to europe and visited with american troops in germany and lithuania. i went to germany, poland, and lithuania. i was impressed with our troops. from the conversation i had, i was impressed with our eastern european allies. they clearly see the threat and it is important to them. but they are clear that they need our support. they can't do this on their own. there is no nation like the united states, there is no military that is like ours. so i think it is clear that the security of not only europe, but the securities of our country, we have got to stop these tyrants like xi jinping and putin and others from trying to control the world. it doesn't appear that the biden

administration did everything they could, to deter putin, because he invaded. it seems like we did the same thing -- obama did the same thing in 2014. we were put in a tough position. it doesn't appear that we are doing enough to deter communist china because they are continuing to threaten taiwan. one of us would send men and women to fight, but we will end up that way if we don't stop these guys. in your professional judgment, given your many years in military service, can you believe the u.s. can deter enemy regimes like russia, china, and iran if we don't demonstrate even greater military capabilities and a very united political will? >> senator, i believe all instruments of national power are necessary parts of deterrence in a greater deterrence posture. that includes the military, it includes, the diplomatic, the informational and the economic, and i agree that political will

is a necessary thing to demonstrate in order to achieve deterrence. >> what does the european command need more to try to deter putin to make sure he doesn't win in ukraine and also that he doesn't ever invade a nato ally? >> the most important thing the european command needs to continue to deter is continued unity of the alliance. continued political will of the alliance, which we are seeing and abandons right now. we need to keep that going, i think that's the first step. the step is we need the second continued support of the armed services to provide us with the capabilities that that we need. those are the two things i think. >> do you think it makes sense to reposition some of our troops further to the east, rather than have so much of it concentrated in germany? >> as you know, in response to this crisis, we have done exactly that, the alliance has

repositioned four battle groups into southeastern europe. many nations have bilaterally reinforced their forces. for example, we have reinforced latvia. the u.k. has reinforced their battle groups in and estonia. the u.k. has reinforced their battle groups in estonia and the germans have reinforced their battle groups in lithuania. the u.s. has added additional forces into eastern europe as well. that's exactly what we have done in response to this crisis. >> being part of nato, do we have a good working relationship with their military? >>? >> we have a very good working relationship with their military. we work closely with the swedish military on specific technical things but also in general on exercises. with the finish army, i just brought two striker troops back

from finland, a parachute battalion is on its way to finland on routine exercises. yes, sir. they will be very easy to integrate. >> what would you like to see in addition to what the european allies are doing in europe to help ukraine? >> i think we should keep doing what we're doing today. as we talk more and more with our ukrainian colleagues, we get the opportunity to understand better and better what it is they need and how they plan to use it. i think we are moving in the right direction. the question of what happens on the far end to ukraine, after the conflict will conclude i think will be a very important question for europe, as well as for our country. >> thanks for your service. >> thank you. >> thank you very much, senator scott. senator rosen, when she gets settled, will have the floor. >> thank you, sir.

>> good morning, general. good to see you again. thank you, chairman reid for holding this hearing. so nice to have a great conversation with you last week and i am glad to see you here this morning. i guess we'll get right into it. i am worried about cyber. russian cyber threats. we were talking about last week, the importance of maintaining our collective vigilance in the face of russian cyber threats. earlier this month, cybercrime commander general nakasone said a cyber mission force hunt forward team traveled to ukraine in december to help them build resilience against cyberattacks. still, unfortunately, russia launched destructive cyberattacks against ukraine. if confirmed, how will you work with cybercrime to enhance the cybersecurity capacity of

ukraine our other european partners including through the hand-forward operations? >> thank you, senator. if i am confirmed i will continue to work with general nakasone and all his components. of course the 60th u.s. air force and tim hoch currently runs cyber operations for u.s.-eucom. they do a great job. i think general nakasone's command has set up some great models throughout europe in terms of defending forward. hunting forward. doing it in collaboration with our partners and our allies, and i would very much look forward to pursuing all of those with him. it will be of critical importance. >> you lead me into my next question. what do you assess nato's over all cyber capabilities and our alliance's readiness to respond to any attacks? >> i think the alliance has

collectively begun. we have established a cyber center in estonia and we are working towards strategies. but clearly, just like kralev our countries visually, there is much work to be done for the entire alliance collectively on this. if i am confirmed, it will be one of the things i turn my attention to first. >> i appreciate it. i want to move to the black sea, because russia is maintaining a blockade of the ukrainian coast. it now controls a number of strategic ports, and the black sea. ukraine exports 70% of its cargo through there. last month russia said it is in its second phase of its invasion , and it could include targeting the ukrainian southern regions, potentially neighboring moldova. if confirmed what actions would , you take to mitigate those threats on the black sea, and

what more can need to be doing -- what can you be doing together>>? senator, i would point out that there are three nato nations that border the black sea. each has a navy. i would also agree that the problem of exporting or not exporting green from ukraine right now is an important problem not just for ukraine but for the world, and because of that, for us as well. what i would do if confirmed as commander of u.s. eucom's provide the military options required by our civilian leaders. clearly it would have to be a whole of government approach, which may or may not include a military component. >> building on that, i know that in this setting -- can you speak on anything more specifically about how we should be preparing in the black sea for this

potential incursion, if you will? >> ma'am, i think the first thing that we have been doing is probably the most important and it is not in the black sea, it is establishing alternative ways to get the grid out. -- together grain note. the german national train company has been conducting massive lifts of grain out of ukraine right now coming out through poland then up to the northern germany ports for export. i think it will be a combination of modes of transportation that we are going to have to use, and look forward to contributing to it. >> i know i only have 20 seconds left, but i just want to ask a little bit about if sweden and finland join nato, what kind of

security guarantees do you think we should provide for nato -- for sweden and finland if they do join nato and article v protections kicking? >> ma'am, obviously the nature of the security guarantees that we or anybody would provide would be a policy matter. i can state that as a military matter, we are in a position to back up any guarantees across the european landmass. >> thank you. thank mr. chair. >> thank you, senator rosen and general, thank you for your testimony today and your service to the nation, which is a proud family tradition. i think you've demonstrated quite clearly why you should be confirmed and continue the leadership that general walters has shown in facing this grave crisis in ukraine. with that, i will adjourn the hearing. thank you. >> thank you, senator. [chairman bangs gavel]

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calls live on the air on the news of the day. we will discuss policy issues that impact you. coming up friday morning, a white house reporter discusses the special counsel investigation into alleged ties between the trump 2016 campaign and russia. then, the founder and editor at large of this organization on president trump's influence on the gop and the overall direction of the party heading into the midterm elections this fall. watch washington journal live friday morning on c-span or on c-span now app, our free mobile app during the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, text messages, and tweets. >> here is a look at some of our live programming on friday. president biden speaks at the u.s. navy academy's 2022 commencement ceremony. live coverage from annapolis gets underway at 10 a.m. eastern on c-span.

later, former president donald trump, texas governor greg abbott and texas senator ted cruz are expected to give remarks at the conference in houston. watch live beginning at 3 p.m. eastern also on c-span. both events are available to see on the go with c-span now, our free mobile video app, or anytime online at c-span.org. >> c-span has unfiltered coverage of the u.s. response to the u. -- to the russian invasion of ukraine. bringing you the latest from the pentagon as well as congress. we also have international perspectives from the u.n. and statements from foreign leaders. all on the c-span networks, the c-span now app overlap, and c-span.org/ukraine, our web resource page where you can watch the latest videos on demand, and follow tweets from

journalists on the ground. go to c-span.org/ukraine. >> iran's foreign minister spoke at the world economic forum in davos, switzerland recently about how sections against his country are affecting the progression of the air talks -- of nuclear talks. fareed: foreign minister, welcome. pleasure to have you on. let me ask you. you represent a new government in iran which in many ways seems different from the last one. secondly watching the campaign, you were very critical of the previous government. how does this government's policy did for from the last one? >> in the name of alla theh most malevolent, our policy is based on a balanced -- the most

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