an innate, who was also a coach, and one of the most prominent cricket broadcasters, for channels all over the world, a larger than life character, one did much to take cricket beyond its normal audience. she chose my thoughts and i, and i help to choose a shoes that's i got some pretty good the cricket community and why the sporting world has lost one of its most unique talents. ah, this is out as there are these, your top stories. russia has drawn world wide condemnation after being accused of attacking a nuclear plant that it seized in ukraine. fiber a couch at the facility in the early hours of friday morning. it was extinguished without any radiation spikes. russia says ukrainians, saboteurs are to blame. and a sign of global alarm about the nuclear power seizure,

the unsecure to counsel scrambled together for an emergency meeting. the you, i said russia almost caused a catastrophe. a rushes ambassador dismissed the accusations as hysteria, ukrainian authority say 47 people were killed by russian air strike, and china have pictures from the city show days. residents, wandering through the wreckage of bombed out apartment blocks and buildings, cranes, president blossom is lensky, has thank the people of europe for their support while urging countries to take further action against russia. he address thousands of anti war protesters in european cities, fire taped recording. what's wrong to the people of europe? i would like to call on you not to be silent. i would like to call you to come out to the streets and support ukraine supporter efforts and support our fight. because if ukraine does not stand, europe will not stand. if we will fall, you will fall, so please do not be silent. do not turn a blind eye on this. come out and support ukraine as much as you can. and president

lansky is maintaining pressure on nato to intervene more heavily on ukraine's battlefields and in the skies. but the lines, as foreign ministers meeting and brussels reiterated that stop to move would cause a big war. and it says on pharma has killed least 56 people and injured 200. all those in a sheer mosque in pakistan, he knows, have been held for some of those killed in the northwest and city, a shower. police say the suicide on the 1st open fire on offices before forcing his way inside and then detonated his suicide best during friday. prayers. chinese government has such a great target to 5 and hope to see the lowest in decades. the world's 2nd largest economy is grappling with k with 19 outbreaks and a property. okay, that headlines nice continues here out there, off the upfront talk to al jazeera, we do believe that the threat of an invasion of ukraine is currently the biggest

threat to international peace and security. we listen, we are focusing so much on the human tearing crisis that we forget the long term development. we meet with global news makers and talk about the stories that matters on our. as russia continues its assault on ukraine, calls for action from the international community grow louder with the bait raging on everything from the effectiveness of sanctions to weather nato's involvement with ukraine contributed detentions with moscow. and fears that direct action by nato could translate into war across europe. what can anything deter, put in what, what a long war mean? not just for the people of ukraine, but for russian citizens as well. that's our discussion this week on an upfront question. the you wanted me to discuss the latest on ukraine, our doctor, stephanie best, former deputy assistant secretary general of nato, doctor of guinea outbox, editor in chief of russia. the new times magazine and doctor acne agreed with

a senior fellow at the atlantic council and author of the book beyond crimea, the new russian empire. thank you all for joining me. getting, let me start with you. you've got to come in for a decade, so you understand better than most people, how they make decisions. we've seen weeks of warnings from the west, about an eminent invasion of ukraine trip build up along the border. and of course, diplomatic efforts to avoid the outcome that we're seeing today. in your view was war inevitable? you know, at all there's nothing to do so treating the crystal balls. i'm just a journalist, but i do think that to which may have been pretty much lost all the time. and what did she realize that she was unable to for the well, because to what to put why he will be coming to all

for well, he wanted it to fade back. he wanted to divide the world into fear of him, and that is fine to show all the full law. so it's a problem when you're out live to a, to do that, she decided to stop the war. it seemed to be following the advice of very particular sets of advisors, particularly the most hawkish wing of his security council should not have to follow at any kish member for a few secured the council because she fell and hobb long petition with this trial. so the way he, he's a greg did of the so we do was to practice institution the k g b and the other kind of situation which is the culture and the

organizational culture always has been based on le wireless. so i'm funny, bad for jeff rachel, if you could get what she wanted to get a way to get them you can get by for you're not teacher. she wants to have the kind of, or that the kind of international order set sparren agreed to have with roosevelt and churchill. that's what she will. and she wants to himself as an all day span. stephanie, in recent months, russia has repeatedly pointed the finger at nato. some of even argue that nato is at least partially responsible for the outbreak of war, arguing that its expansion in the early 2 thousands to include former soviet countries. is that the route of today's crisis? would you agree with that assessment? no honest surprisingly, i don't agree with that assessment. let me, let me say, 1st of all,

i mean that we do have principles and global principles, including our, the free choice of countries to determine their own security arrangements or nato didn't go around shopping and ask people to join advice. vice versa. countries like lithuania is the one error, the czech republic, poland, all these countries resort to become a member of nato because they thought it was best for their own countries and they took it free and the liberal choice and that's number one. but number 2, i would like to stress. i also recall vividly because back then i, i was there i, when we signed the strategic partnership with russia, that was back in 1997. i'm at, we established a joint permanent council. so we b, gave russia really quite

a bit of said if i can say so on natal issues and be invited russia to work with us jointly. and over almost 15 years, we worked with russia. ah, it's, and now almost unthinkable. i'm into recall, but i was there, i was part of it and i still vividly recall the many, many issues in which we work with russia and nato has never done anything wrong in terms of suggesting to russia that we would either reduce their or ignore their legitimate concerns, by contrast, we invited them to be with us to partner with stephanie, there are some people who would say, i agree with everything you're saying. but in the absence of nato, putin doesn't have the pretext that there would not have been an invasion apps at the pretext of nato in his concerns around nato. what do you make of that? well, i suggest is all part of put it's narrative i. he tried very hard and still is trying,

i mean to basically roll back history and interpret everything which i'm talking about the past 20 years as something which ultimately constitutes a threat to what's rusher. and so this is very much a narrative and ah, reactions in allied countries, basically erections around the world. now make very clear that we don't buy into this narrative. we don't want to live in a world which is divided by spheres of inferences. and we go, don't want to go back as if dina has said to y'all, taos tile, earn a power play, i mean, between the big powers. so, and i'm afraid to say i put in has miscalculated a lot, agnew given the in his speech. now, in the offensive into ukraine, putin also said the operation aim to d. not so far, the country in your view is the invasion, again, really about nato, or is nato just a pretext. you know, nato said absolutely just

a pretext. there are many other pretext that booth and has used and mean again, do you not, if occasion, an extraordinary extraordinary statement, completely detached from reality. president lensky himself is jewish. so it's very difficult to make that argument, i mean, couldn't, has made other arguments that ukraine is a, but brotherly nation, a brotherly, slavic nation. so therefore, they're gonna, you know, invaded whether ukraine likes it or not, to support and help their brotherly nation. so i think. ringback that there are many narratives that button has tried playing out over the course of this time, and really since some since 2014 and since the 1st invasion of crimea since the creation of separatist regions in lieu hon. scandinavia sca at the time, the pretext was that the russia languages speakers in ukraine were being discriminated against. so therefore he is going to go in and help them up. there's

been many pretext, but the end of the day, i think this is really for him up a project of personal ambition to try to re establish rushes influence, and control over the post soviet space. i, he, president putin has stated many times that the fall of the soviet union was the greatest catastrophic o geopolitical disaster of the 20th century. so this is, i think, something he wants to reverse and have this as his legacy. as president of russia is, nato was formed in 1949 ah, during the cold war, primarily to counter potential soviet threats. ah, those, the organizations, very existence still hinge upon a certain kind of tension or the threat of war from russia. when we became the president back in 2001 of his 1st name was i. he said that he would like to join out. he would like russia to june. so at the very beginning of his presidency,

there was no talk about any threat from the side of the mouth month to can you know, i so peter, i believe back to russia and you know, he has the right to decide which nation has for i, for for residency and which nation, though? so she decided that the brain that we have doesn't have this 70 right to decide who to ally with. and that's, that's it. i think that it's, it's so misleading to keep talking, evolve, made the threat. look, that russian propaganda motion no longer talks about me. nation propaganda machine

. now tell russian city of those that russia had to stop is for him to was, you know, the, to them, you grain from developing its own nuclear weapons. stephanie, that the war has put the question of natal membership for ukraine into conversation once again on the table once more, despite having been repeatedly dismissed in the past. why has the idea of ukraine as a needle member always seemed so unlikely. well, a bit like the european union nation has an act key. aah for new members. so it is not just, i mean that we look at photos, pictures, and listen to the hi. say speeches are we want to make sure ne, to wants to make sure that any new and country accessing nato can actually make an a contribution can bring to the table net or military

capabilities and shares out the same values. doesn't have any type of fire, territorial, or other related conflict. i'm afraid to say it never actually met the criteria. and there were still and there was still quite a some work to do for the ukrainians and on, on their spite. so that's lawless. i mean the procedural aspect, but above all, there is a political aspect. and if there is one thing that i criticize or when looking at my, my fault mur employer, i think the decision came back at the book. horace summit in 2008 was not helpful because it left georgia and ukraine with this and beauty. it was agreed the cause. there was no agreement that we would invite ukraine as well as georgia and to become member at some point. but we didn't specify date and that left 2 countries

in limbo, i thought, strategically speaking, politically speaking, that was not helpful. neither for nature's course, nor for the course of the 2 countries concerned. agnew, another thing that creeds difficulty is this question of energy independence. ah, right now, europe plans to reduces dependents all russia. ah, and that is perceived by moscow as a threat. you yourself have cause for more sanctions on rushes nord stream to pipeline the natural gas pipeline that would double russia's natural gas exports to europe via germany. in your view has europe's energy dependence on russia. emboldened bruton. absolutely, and i think this energy dependence also was one of the reasons put in miscalculated with this invasion. but if you look at europe today, the reality is it's at least about a 3rd. it dependent on russian gas imports. fortunately with the globalization of

the gas markets and the united states becoming a major gas producer and l. n. g ex, border. there are more options for europe, b and importing states. but nonetheless, today, they remain highly dependent. and north stream too is a pipeline that had a big impact on the way this crisis unfolded because the north stream to pipeline directly from bratia to germany, once it was completed, completed today, it's not certified and not operation. and hopefully it won't become so, but once it was completed, it allowed you russia to bypass the ukrainian gas pipeline system, which was one of the primary means of sending gas from russia to europe. and now that there is an alternative route, there was essentially this created a green light for food and government to invade ukraine and to if damage. but that pipeline in the process, if you know there was nothing holding it back from outright war and damaging the

pipeline system because there was a belief that now they'll have an alternative pipeline system. so this gap, the dependence oil dependence really has a direct links with this current war in ukraine. let's talk a bit about sanctions. you know, there's been a lot of debate over the impact of sanctions on russia. but many of expressed concern that the effects of sanctions are more likely to be felt by ordinary russian citizens rather than by the powerful, by the state itself. our sanction the right choice. i'm not sure that i want to answer this question because the political fines, as i would say, yeah, i think that these crash sanctions are going to to clean. so press what problem and we'll put in and may lead to the fleet of daily and change of the however, the kind of the financials that i have been,

i have been imposed on russia. they, in fact, a lot of my fellow citizens, we just yesterday before, yesterday woke up in a new world them, if you country and my in fact in the life looks ugly, a lot of that has been sold. now, people are trying to withdraw currency dollars and euro's and they need to be difficult. now, ready? not clear how russians are going to, we're actually going to why they're going to need to come back maintainance of their ultima bias. but i have a lot of problems that we're going to face pretty soon. however,

i hate to talk about that because i feel so is she about what my country is doing? not doing right now to the neighboring country to i see pictures from the web, but i know that hundreds and thousands of greens dumping each day or, you know, they get to the beauty of them for that. i've traveled around your brain time when a game, i know this country with the will. i love it. in fact, my grandma family was from crane and i see what russian russian new file and russian born i'm doing to you to to should add to what do you and i'm terrified, but this is done by the army which i as

a taxpayer, as a federal and they're asking for duration i pay for that. and that makes me feel ashamed and you know, and no sanctions are good. now, if puts him and his people are not going to be punished for the kind of path that they did to that they had been doing to grain and to europe. a general listen way in europe was found out in 19391939. that was the year when the world war to stop. i couldn't believe that i live in the country, which was 25000000 people through the world war 2. and these very country way each piece of land is somebody is great. this country

started to war and killing people right now, 20 century europe. it's just impossible to conquer, have stephanie. earlier this week, switzerland announced that it would freeze russian held financial assets in the country, totaling more than $11000000000.00. the big number that's according to the new york times. that's a rather shocking move, given switzerland's long history of neutrality. what, what does that kind of move tell us? it tells me that the global communities really are really running around one point, which is to, to really express their opposition, their frustration, derringer, or de, outburst our with regard to what's ongoing and in ukraine, even smaller countries neutral countries like so as

a lend you mentioned half joined to chorus i. i must admit, i feel a little bit and busily and about it on one hand, i think it's absolutely good and important at the international community comes together from various sectors, countries, tech sector, sports cultures, you name it to express at their opposition. but the more we do it, the more we do it, the more i fear, i mean, we corner president twitching considerably. and if he were to put ourselves into his shoes and consider policy options, what is it i mean, that can actually on the how can move forward, what is his exit strategy? i feel, i mean, that we ourselves need to also get and smarter and develop a strategy. how to actually manage sachi, hooting regime under global pressure. i think that's it. question which is on the table now for policy makers across the board. how do we manage that ag net?

i'm thinking about what jenny says about. the kind of enormity of the moment. she's making comparisons to 1939. ah, the push that stephanie is talking about from the global community is part of the response to this moment. what do you see as the proper global response, the proper type of pressure, switch them and gives one model of it. but what do you see is the kind of broaders response that you would expect from the global community? well, one specific thing i would like to see, particularly in europe is that and it's going to be difficult to understand, but it's a move that europe will have to make. at some point, it's essentially sanctioning russian sources of energy, russian, oil, and gas. it's again, not easy to achieve because europe is dependent on this, but there are global markets. they may have to pay more. but if you look at it today, essentially the money that europe, spencer, or send to russia,

if for oil and gas imports, this is essentially the russian military budget. so if you want to cut off the russian military budget, one of the primary things you could do is really start to get serious and start sanctioning russian oil and gas. i think 1st stopping the north stream to pipeline m, even stopping the operations of north street one pipeline. and i think germany in this last week has really had an epiphany. they really started reexamining. their policy in germany is europe's largest gas market. largest client of gas from so the moves they make will have a big difference. and i'm also seeing changes in turkey as well. jerky is the 2nd largest market for gas from in the, in, within the european context. and with the decision of prison and earn that on to close, the boss for a straight to russia and military ship movement is

a step in the positive direction. in guinea, we've seen thousands of russians marching in anti war protests. we've even seen some unexpected high profile figures inside of russia speaking out against the war . is there any descent in your view within the inner circle or even within his government? for what's happening right now? i have no doubt that people who are trying to oppose the war, especially those in the, on the, on the financial side of the russian government. because basically, the russian economy will been piece of in the math of several one. so this edition is extremely difficult. and i rushed in, hop calling to reserve, the frozen so central bank is unable to interfere,

therefore are actually current the last thought at the sound. it means that prices for all who food of what that commodities will go significantly. and those who went for will become much, much for russian young people. they're leaving the country on math, they just running outside the country. ration reach, be po, ration middle class. the also, or everybody is trying to find ways to get out of russia. 6000 people with the taking the as they to 5 in different pro, to across the country. i my publication you times go to blog because, you know, russian got one believes that we shouldn't use the word war or the there are no

more, no invasion, no cam. so for the ration is just some, some operation that we soon come back against the neighboring country. the only independent radio station last month. we also was taken down by the russian. that was the only independent tv channel to the rain was taken down by the russian government as well. it's ad of being to you for the majority of reporters decided to leave the country. i mean, if you ever really do have the for, for my assumption indeed, and will continue to cover this are every step of the way stephanie, if jenny agnew, thank you so much for joining me on up front. that's our show up front. we'll be back next week

with ice caps melting in the north pole juice of climate change. china is ramping up research and investment in the region. one i one aisd explorer, china's rise in the opt on out 0 revealing eco friendly solutions to come back. threats to our planet on al jazeera, our reporters retreat in a brutal civil war. if a commodore hadn't been there, the israel invasion would not have been so well reported. the commodore had become journalistic center. you could be in the safe enclave and then you went out into civil war. i started off leaving this while the grand suite of the commodore hotel . the next room i was in, was underground the time the prison. so as a hostage,

a route to commodore war hotels on al jazeera count, defeat foods cheap, and sometimes dangerous copies of the real thing have been found all over the world . and in even the most expensive premium products. it's the secretive and deadly multi $1000000000.00 business. we found one product, but about one 3rd horse day and a and us, which was just an incredible finding. during raids on one of the most notorious mafia gangs in calabria, italian police found consignments of fake olive oil made from industrial lubricants that were being exported to the united states. the main thing that we do when we carry out criminal investigations is to reconstruct the money flow and the flow of goods and connect these together. it office, broads does profits that are easy to make and hard to ignore. perhaps it means that

all of us should be a little more vigilant about what we put on our plates. ah, ah. with another huge explosion. rocks is strategically important to city, close to ukraine's capital, as people deal with mass destruction. ah, i'm has them seek a, you're watching, i does it as continuing coverage of the war in ukraine. they committed an act of nuclear terrorism while selling and seizing the upper east and nuclear power plant ukraine and it's.