and with ukraine as well you often hear the refrain nothing about ukraine without ukraine. and it's no secret there are challenges in working with some of our allies, notably germany, on certain issues, not only nord stream 2, but i think is it's necessary to keep as united a front as possible, recognizing that it may not always be possible in every instance, but we need to keep in mind there are few things that wants more than a divided nato or au, and that would a disaster for ukraine, for european security, and indeed, again for local -- and indeed for global security. secondly, the u.s. government across various government agencies, state, defense, intelligence agencies, energy, usaid i think are working hard to help strengthen ukraine's spirit of resilience to counter russia's oppression. there have been stepped up efforts even within the last few weeks, and days, military and other support, cybersecurity intelligence, countering , subversive efforts. a small example, state the state department has issued stat sheets recently countering russia's narrative. you can chec

when he went to visit ukraine in 2010, i advised ukraine as a fulcrum. whatever happens in ukraine will happen in the rest of the world i think ukraine is always been vital was very disappointed when ukraine decided not to join and to pursue its own economic ties to the european union. putin has made some very provocative statements about ukraine, most notably ukraine and russia are one nation or onee people. this historically is not accurate. has asserted its independence at various times in russian history. so russia may be the younger brother and has exerted influence for centuries and putin wants to reaffirm that break. >> u.s. russia and talks right now this morning in geneva switzerland. william pomerantz we appreciate you joining us for this conversation. >> thanks very much. ♪ ♪ >> c-span's "washington journal" we are taking your calls alive, on the air, on the news of the day and will discuss policy issues that impact you. discussion about changing voting laws in congress and various state legislatures with american enterprise institute resi

against ukraine.- an attack against ukraine. sorry, sir aa ? an attack against ukraine. sorry, sir gay? the _ an attack against ukraine. sorry, sir gay? the argument _ an attack against ukraine. sorry, sir gay? the argument against i an attack against ukraine. sorry, i sir gay? the argument against this, of course, is that it actually takes pressure off china. —— sergey. — — sergey. they —— sergey. they may be worried about the economic— —— sergey. they may be worried about the economic impact of sanctions. but i _ the economic impact of sanctions. but i think— the economic impact of sanctions. but i think there are multiple interests for them as well in this equation — interests for them as well in this equation. 50 interests for them as well in this euuation. ,, ., ., ~ , ., interests for them as well in this euuation. ,, ., ., equation. so if russia makes a land crab for equation. so if russia makes a land grab for wherever _ equation. so if russia makes a land grab for wherev

k says that kremlin is trying to install pro ration leadership in ukraine. what has the reaction been to this accusation? well, this, this or the, the u. k. has released the list of 5 names that russia considers her to install somehow here and key of as a proxy government, but it has provided no additional information. so this communication raises more questions than it does answer. and oh we, we do absolutely not know what the scenario is that the, that the ukraine u. k. services have intercepted here. are these people who are in line for a possible government? if russia would invade ukraine? are they planning to do something here behind the lines? what is clear, however, is that a popular uprising is probably not going to bring these people into positions. they are form officials from a government that has been housed it in 2014 by the people. 4 of them have fled to russia and they're mostly very unpopular here in ukraine. and meanwhile, in germany there's also been controversy about comments made by the countries now for my navy chief, our s k. every act

and, of course, with ukraine as well you often hear the refrain nothing but ukraine without ukraine. and it's no secret that there are challenges in working with some of our allies, notably germany on certain issues not only nord stream ii but i think it's necessary to keep us united front as possible, recognizing that it may not always be possible in every instance, but we need to keep in mind that there are a few things that putin was more than a divided nato or eu, and that would be a disaster for ukraine, for european security, and indeed for global security. secondly, the u.s. government across various relevant agencies state in defense of treasury and intelligence agencies and energy and usaid, i think are working very hard to strengthen ukraine's security resilience to counter russia's aggression. very have been stepped up rot efforts even within the last few weeks and days military equipment and other defense support, cybersecurity is very important, intelligence, powdering sabotage subversive efforts, disinformation. just a small example state department issued, has issued f

ukraine. she made the remarks during a virtual discussion hosted by the yalta european strategy. >> and supports ukraine's european perspective. ukraine free, and democratic, and therefore prosperous. the kremlin has put the man's to the west to allay russian security concerns. russia says if the demands are not met it will consider military measures. it is wholly understandable that ukraine feels itself taken as a hostage. what can europe and the west do to protect ukraine's territorial integrity and also, most importantly, ukrainian freedom? we welcome wendy sherman, the u.s. deputy secretary of state, and the diplomat who led the most recent talks with the russian federation. welcome, and also welcome my fellow board members. united states plays a key role in protecting the principles of international law, and for the right of every nation to choose their own way into the future. secretary sherman, what can you tell ukrainians and europeans, what is our way forward? sec. sherman: thank you

if russia invades ukraine. that warning comes ahead of talks in paris to day between germany, france, ukraine, and russia aimed at defusing the crisis. the leaders of germany and france say they are committed to resolving the situation through diplomacy, but they also renewed warnings that moscow would pay a heavy price for invasion. several western nations had put troops on alert and stepped up arms deliveries to ukraine, and eagerly awaited arrival. at keith, air pot, military equipment sent by the united states to shore up ukraine as it braces 4 possible russian invasion. it's the 3rd shipment, but it's not enough to resist a bigger and better equipped army government official say. bit to headphones. you please help us to convince the german government to be more proactive dba at 2 a geren of year. we urgently need defensive weapons of often v as in july and we were alone and, and we not in night. so i know you, nobody will send us troops, and not even the american, a sauna. we have to defend ourselves such

how does ukraine affect us national security? and nobody in this administration is willing to answer that. plus the united states is not willing to address many of the concerns, legitimate concerns that moscow has laid out in its 2 written documents with the united states is doing in ukraine, now will clearly escalate into something that's going to be untenable. and it's going to create tremendous tensions around the world for quite some time to come. as the u. s. calls for russia to pull back his troops on the ukrainian border. the 1st shipment of washington's $200000000.00 military aid package arrived in care of on saturday. i will note that the united states is delivered more security systems to ukraine in the last year than any point in history. and these deliveries are ongoing, including today there's more deliveries coming. we recently notified congress of our intent to deliver and 17 helicopters of the nato members, estonia, latvia and lithuania, have pledged to send more lethal weapons to strengthen ukraine's ability to d

, that we want to support ukraine, that we will do nothing about ukraine without ukraine. >> i have a long list of questions asking whether ukraine can procure elsewhere from germany. people are also asking for example, if there will be an air attack by russia or in case of a missile strike, the readiness. can you take get defensive weapons to reduce the threat from the air? is a very complete questions of people who are ready to go and defend their own country asking, will there be support for them in case russia goes for a full on invasion. >> it is incredibly important to do everything we can to's or ukraine, two to be able to defend itself. as i said earlier, it is why it is extraordinary and very affirmative that estonia, latvia, lithuania have sent defensive weapons to ukraine. it is why the united states the president did an additional $200 million for security assistance. and those shipments have already begun to ukraine. they have the capability to defend themselves. president zelensky is in a tough position because he wants his economy to move forward and all of the talk of

certainly russia is ukraine. is that still broiling crisis and france and germany and have now been in a position a to, to play a meaningful role? as russia has been a building up and withdrawing forces along the ukrainian border last spring. and now we see the bill up and that russia is engaged in again and which started in november and december of lossing is continued. we see i'm substantial formation is off of russian forces along the ukrainian border and circle meant of ukraine. and one can certainly hope that, that the normandy of for form as well can be revived. and it looked at out about the back focus trying. but i'm not optimistic that her engagement with, with ukraine you lead us and russia lead as well. will your results in the coming days when you le, let's stick with the ukrainian leaders for a moment? i'm wondering how much credibility germany has right now in key of germany has not been in favor of supplying ukraine with serious weaponry. germany has refused to kill the nord stream to guess, pipeli

ukraine is a partner of the -- ukraine's partners have been steadfast about standing with ukraine and its right to choose the future, not mr. putin's right to choose that future. the united states, nato, and other partners have been working closely with the ukrainian government and people to try to address the current crisis. i want to highlight the role of the biden administration highlighting the role of nato, which just announced additional assistance to ukraine over the past couple of days, which i think is important to strengthening the resilience of ukraine internally. a number of other countries have also stepped forward, and i think to those countries that have an watching what is happening, you can really see a change in the approach of the issue, and i think the threat level that is being discussed. there is a clear understanding now that mr. putin's designs are not only about security in your input about security in europe and globally. with this backdrop, i want to turn to our founder, and then we will have our ukrainian speakers stepped in. my colleague in brussels, who h

we hear silence mostly on ukraine. this is truly a destabilizing factor right now, for nato's position with russia. now you are opening statement implies that the new german government is prioritizing its economic interests in the sense of commercial relations with russia. but former chancellor miracle was similarly inclined, and yet after the uh, the ukraine annexation of crimea in 2014, she played a very strong role in rallying e u. member states around sanctions. and also in initiating the so called minced process of talks between ukraine and russia. so what's changed? the government right now we have an as p d lead government, and the s p d let's remember is traditionally very russia friendly gal toleta. the former as p d chancellor. sits in the board of directors of gus prom and one of the leading proponents of north stream 2. and this project, should it be canceled, should the german government openly declare that it will be void if russia invades ukraine? this will have a real domestic political fall out for the

they should be sending duster ukraine now. -- to ukraine now. the administration has been reluctant to send more efficient antiaircraft ukraine. they should be sending that too. we want peter to see that haley's sins -- putin to see that if he sends those troops in there will be serious casualties. those weapons will be a sign of american determination and we need to demonstrate american determination if we want putin to back down. host: let's let viewers take part in this conversation. we will start with andrew calling from danbury, connecticut on the republican line. good morning. caller: thank you for letting me on your show. my question is, this kind of piggybacks what we were just talking about. what does ukraine produce or export that justifies the u.s. protecting ukraine against russian encouragements -- encouragements? guest: ukraine is a country of people very savvy in high-tech and internet. it has wonderful military that we use in operations in the middle east. you need to understand that tens foreign-policy is aggressive. -- putin's

along ukraine's border. these are combat forces and special forces prepared to conduct offensive actions into ukraine. this is the largest. this is the largest, hear me clearly mobilization approves in europe in decades. and as we speak, russia is sending even more forces and arms to join them. russia has already use more than 2000 well cars to move troops and weapon tree from across russia to the ukranian border. russia has also moved nearly $5000.00 troops into bela roche, which short range ballistic missiles, special forces, and anti aircraft batteries. we've seen evidence that russia intends to expand that presence to more than 30000 troops near the bel ruesch ukraine border less than 2 hours north of keep by early february. in addition to military activity. we've also seen a dramatic spike in cyber attacks on ukraine in recent weeks. russian military and intelligence services are spreading disinformation through state on media and proxy sites. and they are attempting without any factual basis to paint u

we believe in the sovereignty of ukraine, the territorial integrity of ukraine, territory of ukraine and the right for their future. and we will do everything we can to affirm the vision that ukrainians have for themselves. >> thank you. thank you deputy secretary. it has been reassuring to talk to you, but i'm quite sure there are still some elements where ukrainians would like to have nato membership and i think we fully have to accept that it is their right to ask at this critical time. it is uniquely difficult situation and circumstances to try to join nato. yes, i think we need to support and strongly support nato's enlargement. thank you for reassurances that they will be supported by more deterrent measures rather than less deterrent measures that russia seems to be seeking. and thank you for releasing what more the u.s. is ready to do to ensure ukraine is feeling supported at this important moment in its history and thank you for understanding the difficulties the country has in reforming itself while it is at the same time at war. i am quite sure that our listeners and viewe

, defend ukraine? amb. thomas-greenfield: we provided ukraine military support to help them prepare for such an eventuality, and we are also having discussions with nato partners and other allies on how we will respond should the russians take such an action. this is not something i can preview for you to help the russians prepare for responding to our actions. jonathan: the national security adviser said the united states was ready for other talks but also said "we have been very close with russia on the consequences of further military action or destabilization, so we are ready either way." given that quote and what you just said, the united states is prepared to do anything and everything, including military action? amb. thomas-greenfield: we are prepared as you quote to take the necessary actions to respond to russian aggression, including at the security council where i will be leaving efforts to bring this before the council. it the russians make the decision to invade ukraine, this is an attack

now, ukraine is not a member of nato. and nato is not out there trying to recruit ukraine. and there is absolutely no proof out there that the objective is for nato to encircle the russian federation. only five of the 30 allies that neighbor russia with just 1/16 of its borders are budded by nato -- butted by nato, if it is 6% of your border being blocked, that's pretty amazing. so that knocks down another president putin's points. last, as the secretary says, the kremlin attempts to encroach upon its territory but in reality the growth in alliance membership is the natural response of those states to its own malign activities and threats. this would be a decision, as it should be by the people of ukraine. our member here is to be able to make the point to president putin that the road he seems to be on infringes upon that sovereignty of that country and upon the ukrainian people. >> well, i am here and i believe my colleagues are here today because we, like every american, are cheering for our commander in chief to be successful, to help protect our values and interests as

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you have to say, well, whether it's nato in ukraine or whether it's ukraine in nato. the fact is that i think the americans are on record. this administration is on record. as saying that the u. s. nato would not fight for you crying. right. and that to me, that means that nato membership is not, is certainly not imminent. and you go back to 2002008 the bucharest summit, whether it's this huge disagreement between the americans on the one hand and some europeans, but or, or being in favor of ukraine. and ga, joining the joining nature and on the other handles france, germany and some other nato members who were absolutely against. and they fudged the final. ready statement to leave it open, whether there would be membership or not. and the fact is that in those years, 1213 years since there's actually been no progress on membership but that those 2 countries. and i don't think the will be because that split still exists and later . yeah. been, i mean, george with it. that's a distinction without a difference. okay. because and, and i'm not disagreeing with mary, but i

does it feel like russia could invade ukraine? >> whenever you ask a diplomat, anybody about that, they shrug their shoulders and say we simply don't know. this is the great problem with this process. nobody knows vladimir putin's intentions. is he been on diplomacy or is he been on war? certainly the fact he has those troops there means that the west is taking it very seriously. the reason they are engaging in these talks against the advice of some people who say that sitting down with the russians is rewarding them for their aggression is simply to say we got to look at a chance of avoiding that conflict matched with a relatively big stick of the threat of massive economic sanctions if the russians were to invade. the russian troops are still there. the threat of invasion is real. nato makes that very clear. until there is evidence to show that is not going to happen, namely russian withdrawal troops back to barracks, the west is having to calculate that is still an option. >> for more on how the united states is approaching the

should care the same about ukraine because ukraine cares about europe, ukraine is one of the largest trading partners and exporters, ukraine bares a huge territory and basically on the forefront, on the black sea security border, includes many of the other western countries and basically, if we're talking about democracy, democracy is about people and you should care not about ukraine, you should care about ukrainian people who have chosen the west and that is what we should stand for and if we stand for ukrainian people, we stand for their values and if we do not, then we have double standards. kristina kvien acting ambassador for washington, here in ukraine, why should the us care about ukraine? first of all, we want a europe that's whole—free and at peace, and we've wanted that for a long time. it is in the us interest, it is in europe's interest, and it is in the global interest. i think that ukraine, any country has the right to choose its own path. ukraine has made very clear that its path is western integration. eu, nato and western integration and no other country outside o

. _ western ukraine. a lot of posturing. a _ western ukraine. a lot of posturing, a lot - western ukraine. a lot of posturing, a lot of - western ukraine. a lot of- posturing, a lot of signalling. tingling is coming from different directions. in washington, president biden speaking of a distinct possibility that resident bruton will invade ukraine next month. from russia, a very different signal, saying we don't want war, we don't have any intention to invade ukraine. here on the ground and rain, ukrainians preparing for the possibility of an escalation of this crisis. but very much trying to get on with our daily lives. and all the while, this concern that even if there isn't a full—scale investor —— invasion that is being plain, all of this talk and all of the movements could mean a very accidental and consequential tumbling towards an even greater war. lyse doucet there. a senior british civil servant is expected to deliver her report on lockdown parties at downing street to the the british prime minister soon without waiting for the po

and we will not make decisions about ukraine without ukraine. about europe without your birth. not nita went out nato, wendy sherman speaking. there, nato was scheduled to have its own sit down with russia this coming wednesday here to expectations are low and the talks will take place without ukraine at the table . now, the fact that the kremlin insists on bilateral talks with the biden administration 1st. and then 2nd talks with nato. it does not help the situation today. ukraine's deputy prime minister made it clear on which side of the g o strategic divide. they want to be the your atlantic integration is enshrined in our constitution and supported by the majority of ukrainian citizens. it's not a subject to negotiation. a bargaining aggressor is not in a position to put conditions until the russian tanks is out of ukrainian border while at the border, ukrainian soldiers have literally dug in their positions with russian troops just kilometers away. and take a look at this. this is recent footage from the don't ask region, the frontline of ukraine's 8 year conflict with pro

it's their influence in ukraine. so russia actually redefined, want to previously called in serious of influences, not referring to stairs of interest. if nato is going to start operating on russian borders, it has to recognize that it also has security interest there. so moving, for example, nato into ukraine is russia. so i can't make this huge move without consulting and russia, but obviously a lot of the russian affairs comes from the past. there's a certain similarity between them, the direction them that us and nato are moving, which should be a part not to germany. then obviously, all this rhetoric that nato, it's about, you know, only including and embracing countries wants to join it if i mentally, an alliance to contain russia and the 3rd tension on it in europe. so i so i did the final point to have to point out when natal offered and nato member 50, you creating only approximately 20 percent of your operation actually wanted it. it was just that, it's not the nato that's pressure to take, you know, this c

in eastern ukraine. when and if putin decides to move to western ukraine. host: jimmy on the democratic line. good morning. caller: before people make a decision on what we should do, they have to look at the situation. putin is kgb. he is carrying out a long-range soviet strategy. russia and china are communist parties. this is not a conflict between the country of ukraine and russia, because if he had a shooting war with russia, russia could have riots in every city because they work with groups like antifa. this is a world event. you can have terrorism. iranian terrorism because putin has been rearming by far in columbia. he is open iran to build up weapons. russia has a lot of political party in this country on both sides. i think putin is good. then there is other people that act like pollution is bad. putin is bad -- that act like putin is bad. he is bad. i read so many publications. many countries around the world. not that the enemy sees being the enemy took away the image of the enemy. then we have a new enemy according to the mediator, it is the t

and ukraine. you havpresident biden talking about a potentially imminent attack while president zelensky asking the white house to calm down that type of talk. what were some of the other concerns president zelensky brought up? >> yes. how to square the circle where you hear almost absolute certainty coming out of washington with president biden saying that there is a distinct possibility there will be a russian invasion. another russian invasion of ukraine month. moscow saying, we have no ans to invade ukraine, we don't want war. in the midst of it all, the ukrainians and the preside saying calm down. he is worried this will cause panic to get these were read the world does not understand ukrainians have been living with this crisis since 2014. there already is a war in the east of ukraine. it has been forgotten until now by the world. he is concerned about the impact on the economy of ukraine as well. besides that, he made clear today that if and when there is a war, because he did not dismiss t

and regardless of the situation in ukraine into the efforts to contain the crisis in ukraine, i think the overall thing effort of the russian neither ship to re framed the european insecurity architecture or to redefine the european security are the architecture of, of even bigger concern for the europeans, because in that really turns bank the clock until bank for the beginning of the 90 ninety's, we have to keep in mind and with a cut cut of perth in 9090. we agreed on, we agreed on the fact that every country in europe is entitled to truth, the political military lines it wants to belong to. and if we would agree with the russian, that this is not accept the acceptable anymore. if we would accept spheres of influence, fears of interest in europe, there would be more or less the division of europe like yard half to the end of the cold war. rachel, i mean, we talk about who's, who's provoking here, who, who is to blame. i picked up a line from you, a secretary of state, tony blink, and who was quoted as saying, nato didn't promise not to grow. that sounds as though he has a he still

we have to strengthen ukraine economically and financially. doesn't the 21st century and don't a certain with cannon's friends and allies are clearly not happy with berlin's decision. the german people seem to be ok with it. according to polling, nearly 60 percent of germans are quite happy with the decision not to send weapons to ukraine. senior figures within the largest party and the ruling coalition are keen to stress germany's role in attempts to find a diplomatic solution to the current crisis mitten in wars looming right now in the middle of europe, it's about doing everything we can to prevent a military escalation of the situation, and of course we do not deliver weapons to ukraine and about keeping the peace, lasting peace order in europe would not work without russia, but only with russia. it's korea, lynn believes the diplomatic doors to finding solutions remain open. however, it's equally clear that germany feels that should they supply weapons to ukraine, their ability to keep those doors open would be impaired. peter, all of her

brian: if troops are near ukraine, how does thatst stop ukraine. as we send troops, germany offers to send helmets. what's the next move? will there be a biden in 2024? a "one nation" watches it closely. back to the homeland. covid mandates are causing mayhem. despite the governor ordering space conversations optional. some students are being segregated from students who choose to wear a makes. in new york some schools do sea way with masking requirements. add together confusion for masks in the classroom. that order is stayed. in canada truckers drove into the capital the protesting vaccine mandates. they are already faze facing a shortage. of course, they go back and forth. lots of mandates. lots of may tell. but "one nation" is watching it all. the highest court. liberal justice the briar is retiring. the president:vowed to nominate a black womb ton the bench. ladies and gentlemen, that's what matters most. joining us now as i make my way over to the desk for the first time. fox news contributor charlie hurt. laura curran is a democrat, a nassau

and just as we're bolstering ukraine security. so to are we looking for how we can support its economy beyond the significant assistance we're already provided . our european allies and partners are doing so as well. and that's another matter that'll have an opportunity to discuss with congress later this afternoon. as we are taking steps to ensure that the global energy supply isn't disrupted, ah, that too is an important focus. should russia choose to weaponized natural gas by cutting supply to europe even more than it's already done? we're in discussions with governments and major producers around the world about searching their capacity. we're engaged in detail conversations with our allies and partners about coordinating our response, including how best to deploy their existing energy stockpiles. all this effort is aimed at mitigating price shocks and ensuring that people in the united states, europe, and around the world have the energy they need no matter what russia decides to do . all told our actions over the past week h

ukraine has now been independent _ this? ukraine has now been independent for _ this? ukraine has now been independent for 30 - this? ukraine has now been independent for 30 years i this? ukraine has now been i independent for 30 years and is taking a lot of steps to move toward the west. one of the precipitating reasons for the tension and recent years is that back in 2014, ukraine signed an agreement with the eu to begin to move closer to the eu, closer into the eu's orbit and to cooperate further. that means a lot of heavy lifting by ukraine to get the financial and economic reforms, as well as to fight against corruption. but the bottom line is ukraine is moving to the west. they are not looking east. that is also what is very much getting under vladimir putin's skin. [30 what is very much getting under vladimir putin's skin.— what is very much getting under vladimir putin's skin. do you think conflict is inevitable _ vladimir putin's skin. do you think conflict is inevitable or _ vladimir putin's skin. do you think conflict is inevitable or can - vladimir putin'

this is happening around ukraine, but it is not just about ukraine. in december, putin released a list of demands for america and its allies which included removing nato troops from eastern europe and barring ukraine from ever joining nato. the u.s. and europe said no. yesterday, president biden told the president of ukraine, zelensky, that there is a distinct possibility that russia could increase and did you cried in february. if it were up to them, there would be no war. so we start tonight in eastern ukraine, near the russian border, that is where we find nbc's richard engel who joins us live. richard, we know the background, what is happening now? >> there is a game of wait and see. ukrainian government, presidents lewinsky, today gave his clearest comments yet. saying that the ukrainian people should ride this out. that they should not be overly concerned that this is something that russia does periodically, that it masses forces, it holds military exercises near the border, that it is a kind of psychological warfare, and that they shouldn't giv

if you're an american citizen, and if you're in ukraine, you should consider leaving ukraine. and you can go to the state department website and see what they've put up. reporter: there were similar advisories before afghanistan too and it didn't forestall an evacuation crisis. gen. milley: that's also correct. sec. austin: rest assured, david, that whatever task the united states military is called upon to accomplish, we'll be prepared to do it. let's go back to the phone and reach out to phil stewart. phil? reporter: yes, hi. i have a question for both of you. to secretary austin, president biden's decision to rule out deploying u.s. forces to combat russia, earlier in the crisis, must have impacted putin's calculus in some way. how do you assess that it's impacted his calculus? and do you have any concerns about pursuing a strategy other than an ambiguity and as far as deterrence goes? and to chairman milley, if president biden responds by deploying u.s. troops in nato's eastern flank or with economic sanctions, how do you anticipate that russia will retaliate? how are you

ukraine on about ukraine without ukraine. how are you planning to fulfill that promise even in this discussion with russians next week? secretary blinken: thank you. well, let me take the second part first. we are absolutely committed to the principle, nothing about ukraine without ukraine, just as we are fully committed to the principle nothing about europe without europe. at the meeting of the north atlantic council foreign ministers today, one of the things that really stood out to me in all of the interventions and something that secretary general stoltenberg mentioned himself in his press conference was the deep appreciation for the intensive consultations we've been engaged with engaged in in recent weeks with all of our european allies and partners about the situation in ukraine and european security more generally. and that will continue. and as it happens, just before coming to see all of you, i was on the phone with my friend and counterpart from ukraine, the foreign minister, dmytro kuleba. and that engagement will

and ukraine both set— is about to exit ukraine and ukraine both set ”p— is about to exit ukraine and ukraine both set up today that is not possible _ both set up today that is not possible under present circumstances.- possible under present circumstances. that's a very interesting _ circumstances. that's a very interesting bit _ circumstances. that's a very interesting bit of _ circumstances. that's a very| interesting bit of background circumstances. that's a very . interesting bit of background as circumstances. that's a very - interesting bit of background as i suspect many would not be aware of that. one of the other interesting things people may not be aware of is the history of this change in the relationship between these countries and russia and the west. and one thing that some analysis and pointed out is a series of countries notwithstanding commitments that were made after the soviet union disintegrated when russia was sort of establishing his new relationship with the west and there was a sort of promise about that it would not expand, nato did expand but russia did not

if there's a conflict between russia, ukraine comes as the west crunch, sop. it's a military presence in the region over a ledge. clowns by moscow to invade its neighbour bound. ah, tear gas and clashes with police in the ukrainian capital has people take to the streets up here to demand economic reforms all to ahead with us to pursue. joe biden is caught on a hot mike insulting a journalist who had been trying to get answers from the president over record inflation numbers. prime ministerial partying, belief in the u. k. law and shun investigation into potential locked. i'm breeches by boris johnson's government following a series of revelations or by boozy shin diggs and dawning street. ah. from moscow to the world, this is your r t. my name's unit o'neill than you're welcome to the program. let's get into our top story. croatia said it will withdraw its forces from ne, so units in eastern ukraine, eastern europe, excuse me, in the event of a conflict between russia and ukraine. now that statement from the countries president came just hours after the u. s.

so ukraine can also impose costs on russia if they once again invade ukraine. and then thirdly and most important for nato allies, it is of course that we're also ready to step up our major presence in eastern part of the alliance to prevent any misunderstanding or report miscalculation about nato's ability and to protect and defend all allies. we are ready to do three things. we are sending a message of sanctions, a high price to pay, we are supporting ukraine and, of course, and conveying an absolutely unwavering commitment to all nato allies. >> but have you seen any concrete indications to date the russia is backing down? >> what we have seen is i continued military buildup, and, of course, have something we follow very closely. we are deploying more troops, more heavy equipment and now thousands of combat troops to belarus, also with aircraft, helicopters and advanced weapons systems. so the military buildup continues. at the same time, russia was willing to meet us, the united states and nato allies a couple of weeks ago, and that's a good sign. that we s

including russians and ukraine. -- russia's and ukraine. we encourage parties to pursue general talks on the implementation of the minsk agreement. security council agreement 2202 which provided useful guidelines to address the situation in eastern ukraine is also a valuable tool in the diplomatic efforts to overcome the situation. brazil welcomes the resumption of talks in the normandy format and the renewed commitment to the cease-fire in eastern ukraine. despite the sensitive and difficult nature of the issue on our agenda today, i would like to conclude with a note of hope. it has been encouraging to hear over the past few days statements to the effect that there is no military solution to the situation. at this moment, in particular, this should be the motto of the whole united nations membership and our security council for renewed commitment to diplomacy and prevention. i thank you, madam president. >> i thank the representative from brazil and give the floor to the representative from kenya. >> thank you, madam president, for giving

we have troops in ukraine, that is wrong, we do not have troops in ukraine. they're planning on sending extra troops to nato countries, lithuania. just in case pool decides to make a push there as well. i am former military. i do not think we want to go to war with russia. i think this is a game that russia is playing and i think president biden was trying to make a point that russia's incursion is not going to throw america into war. we do not have troops in ukraine. this is just another game that vladimir putin is playing. he misses his buddy, donald trump, being in washington. he wants desperately to have his puppet dictator back. host: michael, as you said, you are former military. you're probably aware of the u.s. has tens of thousands of troops in bases in europe. 8500 in high alert would be in addition to that. do you think part of this as the u.s. being the largest contributor to nato is just the administration saying, "we have your back", to those countries. just support of those countries and the threat they may feel, potentially on the border, pola

and if you're in ukraine, you should consider leaving ukraine. and you can go to the state department website and see what they've put out. >> similar advisories before afghanistan, too. and it didn't forestall an evacuation crisis. >> that's also correct. >> rest assured, david, that whatever task the united states military is called upon to accomplish, we'll be prepared to do it. let's go back to the phone and reach out to phil stewart. phil? >> yes, hi. i have a question for both of you. secretary austin, president biden's decision to rule out deploying u.s. forces to combat russia early in the crisis, must have impacted putin's calculus in some way. how do you assess that it's impacted his calculus and do you have any concerns about pursuing a strategy other than the ambiguity as far as deterrence goes? and to chairman milley, if president biden responds by deploying u.s. troops in nato's eastern flank or with economic sanctions, how do you anticipate that russia would retaliate? how your preparing for potential retaliation in europe and how

it will pay a heavy price if it invades ukraine. it coincided with the release of satellite images showing the scale of the russian military build up along the border. ukraine says moscow has now deployed more than 127000 personnel. our white house correspondent, kimberly hallett reports not for washington, d. c. but there is no doubt, let me, no doubt all that approved makes this choice. russia will pay a heavy price. speaking from prepared notes on the anniversary of his 1st year in office, president joe biden sought to clarify the u. s. position on a russian invasion into ukraine. i've been absolutely clear with president putin. he has no misunderstanding. addie any assembled rushing units, move across ukrainian border. that is an invasion but, and only met with severe and coordinated economic response to quench it comes as the white house spent the day cleaning up his wednesday night remarks. stunning european allies by suggesting a lesser response to a smaller scale invasion. if it invades, it depends on what it does. it's one