a new samsung device. switch today. hello, everyone, i'm michael holmes live in ukraine, where we'll get a firsthand look at how hundreds of ukrainian citizens are learning to protect themselves ahead of a potential war with russia. >> and i'm kim brunhuber live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, where we're counting down the hours to beijing's winter olympics closing ceremony. we're live in the region on the highs and lows from the games.

and we begin here in ukraine where the standoff with russia shows no sign of easing. in fact, the british prime minister boris johnson told the bbc today that russia appears to be planning, his words now, the biggest war in europe since 1945. he added that the u.s. and uk would stop russian companies from trading in dollars and pounds if moscow invades ukraine. now, in washington, meanwhile, president biden is set to discuss the crisis with his national security council in the coming hours. this as other western leaders continue an 11th hour push for diplomacy. the french president emmanuel macron, speaking with ukraine's president zelensky on saturday. that was ahead of a phone call with russia's vladimir putin later today. >> go faster! >> go, go, go!

>> in eastern ukraine, a vivid demonstration of the potential dangers. a cnn team on tour with ukraine's interior ministry, coming under mortar fire on saturday. just the latest example of the escalating cease-fire violations in the region. the kremlin also offering a reminder of where the conflict could lead, as russia staged nuclear drills near nato's borders on saturday. the show of force overseen by mr. putin and belarusian president alexander lukashenko. now, belarus on ukraine's northern border is a key ally for russia, of course. officials in the u.s. fear it could be a launch site if russia decides to attack ukraine. moscow, of course, denies it has any plans to invade, even as russian forces surround ukraine on three sides. meanwhile, ukraine's president

met with the u.s. vice president, kamala harris, at the munich security conference on saturday. miss harris telling him, the u.s. stands with ukraine. >> the united states takes seriously the importance of the integrity and the territorial integrity of the ukraine and your sovereignty and the united states stands with ukraine. >> we do clearly understand what is going on. this is our land and the only thing we want is to have peace, bring the peace back to our country. >> cnn has reporters fanned out across the globe covering the latest developments. cnn's chief international anchor, christiane amanpour, is at the munich security conference. susan malveaux is at the u.s. capitol. erin burnett is here with me in lviv, ukraine. jill dougherty is in moscow. let's begin with susan malveaux in washington on who is tracking the latest calls for sanctions against russia if it invades

ukraine. >> reporter: it was a sense of urgency, there was a sense of unity, a clarity of purpose. about 40 democrats and republicans in germany coming out of the nato security conference. they are trying to find a way to avoid war here and demonstrate in no uncertain terms the great show of support that the united states has for ukraine, the ukrainian people, its allies, as well as for nato. and also, trying to make it clear here, delivering this message, meeting with key officials, secretary of state blinken, as well as the mayor of kyiv and the chancellor of germany, saying that russia does have an option here, still has a choice. diplomacy could work to get out of this situation. otherwise, it could face crushing sanctions. >> we want to remove all doubt in anyone's mind, including the president of russia, that the u.s. is here, fully committed in a unified way, to work with our european allies in the interest

of diplomacy. we're not for any war. and diplomacy, diplomacy, diplomacy. and that's why we're talking about sanctions in the event of an invasion. and these are sanctions as if you've never seen before in terms of the intensity and the timing. >> house speaker nancy pelosi saying that it is the timing of those sanctions that are at issue here. they initially started off, republicans and democrats calling it the mother of all sanctions, that would be absolutely devastating to putin, his allies, the banks, his friends, and so forth. but then, a big debate over the last couple of weeks about just the timing of this. republicans agreeing with the ukrainian president zelensky that this should happen before russia invades, to give them a bit of a taste of more of what's to be expected. senator lindsey graham who is also in germany, tweeting out this message saying, i could not dp agree more with his assessment

that we should put pre-invasion sanctions many place now so putin can see for himself the consequences of his action. without clarity, putin will assume weakness. well, it was the democrats and speaker pelosi who essentially said, no, hold off on the sanctions. they are arguing to put it off until the invasion occurs, because there will be some hurt that some of the u.s. allies, ukrainian allies will feel, when these sanctions come. pelosi acknowledging, as well as the republicans here, they don't have a bill put forward for sanctions. they say they don't need one. that the president has in his own executive authority to go ahead and enact sanctions himself. and so this is really symbolic gesture on their part to support the president and the support that effort. they believe he does not need a bill from congress to do so. and one final point, very important, coming out of this news conference, it was the chair of the house intelligence committee, adam schiff who

confirmed they said, yes, they have intelligence, too, that backs up president biden's claim that putin has decided, in fact, to invade ukraine. susan malveaux, cnn, at the capitol. >> all right, anders echelon is the author of "russia's crony capitalism" and joins me now from washington, d.c., thanks so much for making the time. how do you think, before we get to the economics of things, how do you think the west has handled this so far? >> basically, quite well, but as we see, not well enough. the west has utilized its intelligence and given people real information, immediately, when they get it, and this has united the west and there has been a lot of talk about serious sanctions. but as senator graham pointed

out, it's a big question, when you apply what, russia has already done a lot. it has located the black sea. it's started cyber warfare. it's leaned heavily on ukraine in the east, as we speak. when those sanctions start. >> so to your area of expertise, what damage has this crisis already done to the ukrainian economy? >> a lot, but much of it is standing still. ukraine has new access to international finance, because nobody is there to invest in ukraine now. there's no foreign investment. there are no deals being made. this is even hurting ordinary tradings, because people don't know, whether war stop the

deliveries? and of course, the blockade by russian navy in the black sea has blocked all ukrainian ports for more than a week now. and needless to say, to restore business at this time. this is a big loss for the ukrainian economy. >> yeah. and looking further ahead, what more could happen? how much worse could the impacts be on ukraine's economy in the event of an actual invasion by russia? >> it could be massive. during the last war, 2014, 2015, ukraine lost 17% of its gdp, essentially by losing territory. it could be much more if we would actually see bombing of

major industries. >> how do you think the west could best help the ukrainian economy in this environment? >> what ukraine will need in any case, it's a substantial financial support package. and last time around, it was $17 bil billion. these are credits, not grant money. and the imf and the u.s. and the european union would have to take the lead in this. >> yeah. ukraine has been working over the last few years, since 2014, to reduce the kremlin's leverage over its economy and protect itself in a way. how successful have those efforts been in shielding itself? >> very successful. traditionally, ukraine used to have -- one third of its trade with russia.

now it's down to 8% of its foreign trade and that is particularly in the relatively unpolitical trade, such as oil trade, which is not politicized, while ukraine does not import any gas at all from russia since november 2015, one third of ukraine's trade to russia used to be machine-building products, essentially to the military industrial complex, but that has stopped altogether. instead, 45% of ukraine's trade now goes to the european union, and china is the biggest single trading partner because of all of the sales of agriculture and iron ore to china. >> important aspect of all of this, the economic aspect.

anders, good to have you on and to get your thoughts on this. appreciate it. >> thank you very much. all right. cnn's christiane amanpour sat down with mr. zelensky for a lengthy interview during the munich security conference. she asked him what he thought was behind vladimir putin's provocative actions. >> on the so-called false flag is issues, you have just talked about two ukrainian soldiers being killed. the russians say mines have exploded, ukrainian mines on their side boefrtd. we've seen this rhetoric before. we understand the concept of false flags, but how tense is that? how do you think you can stop it, you know -- how do you consider the level of the current provocations? >> provocations are indeed very dangerous, if you have this number of troops. one shelling, one fire, cannon fire, can lead to war. and we perfectly understand, as i said, i do think so, and this is what our partners believe.

i mean, the partners that are around us, who have joined borders with us, who know the history of the soviet union and they understand the kind of risks that we are facing. when someone in mass media says that now this is the most horrific situation, that is not true. it is horrible, it's a tragedy for our nation, for our people. it is a tragedy. and in the future, you will see that this is the tragedy for russians, as well, who used to have good relationship with ukraine. how do we stay neighbors from now on? but we're in a different point of our life. we're not talking about neighborhood. we are talking about the war and that it shouldn't start. this is why the risk is high. what was shown yesterday on the temporary occupied territory, have shown some shelling allegedly flying from our side, and then they have shown

something flying all the way to the region of russia. this is just blunt provocation. these are pure lies. all we care about is peace. and i mentioned this many times to the president of russian federation and -- angela merkel and macron in 2019. and we have sent a massive amount of signals, on the monthly basis, we have been passing on to different world leaders and directly to russian federations that we are ready to sit down and speak. pick the platform that you like, pick the partners that will be there around the table for us. we are ready for that, prepared for that? what's the point of us shooting and proposing diplomacy at the same time? >> moscow denies an invasion will happen, of course. but one major war is well underway. an information war. former cnn moscow bureau chief

jill dougherty with that part of the story. >> reporter: just as there is a military standoff, there is also an information war raging. and you could think of it as kind of a split screen with three different images. the first image would have to be vladimir putin in the situation room in the kremlin, next to him, the president of belarus, alexander lukashenko, as they watched these strategic forces exercises, including some of the most sophisticated weapons that russia has. including hypersonic missiles. that's image number one. image number two would be the president of ukraine at the munich security conference. a big show of force with their western allies. but also urging them not to wait if russia attacks. he says reveal right now publicly what those sanctions

would be against russia. later, it would too late. and then, finally, the third image would have to be pictures from the ground in that breakaway russian-speaking region of the donbas, on the eastern part of ukraine. images certainly of people being bused out of that region, but also a narrative from russia, which is that russia is not the one that intends to attack. it is ukraine that intends to attack the donbas region. and that is something that ukraine vehemently denies. there was one comment by president zelensky today, in which he said, you can't have security and stability in a country if war -- if you are being told that war is about to break out. and that predicament may be precisely what vladimir putin is trying to create. jill dougherty, moscow. >> that'll do it from lviv, ukraine, for now. we'll have more later.

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all right. we want to take you to the munich security conference and u.s. vice president kamala harris -- >> on one of the bases for the munich security conference and certainly one of the founding reasons for nato, which is european security. and the connection and alliance between europe and the united states. this was a productive trip, in terms of the extensive bilateral meetings that we had, that were in furtherance of the ongoing collaboration and partnership with our allies. it was important in that, as you all know, this is a moment that is very dynamic. if not every hour, certainly every day. there seem to be new moments of

interest and also of intelligence and so we ever affirmed, however, all of that being said, through these last couple of days, that this alliance is strong. probably stronger than it was before. and that this alliance has purpose and meaning founded on shared principles that are very much at play right now. as i mentioned yesterday, if we think about those principles, one of the most important is about a mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, which at its essence, is what is at play in terms of russia's posture as it relates to ukraine. at stake is the nato alliance. in terms of our unity, joining together, through sometimes compromise, certainly always through collaboration, to be a

unified voice, especially when these very founding principles of our relationship are being compromised, if not attacked. so with that, i'll take any questions. >> i'll call on folks. reuters. >> thank you, madame vice president. during your meeting with president zelensky, he spoke a little bit about asking the u.s. for specific defense aid. can you talk a little bit about how what he asked the united states for and what the u.s. has agreed to offer? >> sure, i'll tell you what i think you already know. so far, we have offered -- not have been offered, we have transferred and given $650 million in aid. we have also made certain loan guarantees around, in particular, $1 billion. and that is on top of all of the work that we have done collectively through the nato alliance, to provide support for ukraine. >> is that anything new that you were planning to offer ukraine? >> well, what i made clear in our meeting is that, again, this

is a dynamic situation. and depending on what happens in the coming days, we will re-evaluate the need that ukraine has and our ability to support. and we have been doing that through the course of these many months. >> let's go to molly from abc. >> thank you, madam vice president. i wanted to ask you first, are you going to take part in that nsc meeting? >> yes. >> and i wanted to follow up on your meeting with president zelensky yesterday. >> okay. >> when he spoke after your meeting, he shared his frustration with countries like the u.s., who say that an attack is likely to happen in ukraine, but that you won't put sanctions in place until that happens. the administration has continually said that retaining those sanctions holds on to some leverage. but if you believe putin has made up his mind, what leverage do you really have? why not put those sanctions in place now? >> the purpose of the sanctions has always been and continues to be deterrence. but let's also recognize the unique nature of the sanctions

that we have outlined. these are some of the greatest sanctions, if not the strongest, that we've ever issued. as i articulated yesterday, it is directed at institutions, in particular, financial institutions, and individuals, and it will exact absolute harm for the russian economy and their government. >> but if putin has made up his mind, do you feel that this threat that has been looming, is really going to deter him? >> absolute -- we strongly believe -- and remember, also, that the sanctions are a product not only as our perspective as the united states, but a shared perspective among our allies. and the allied relationship is such that we have agreed that the deterrence effect of these sanctions is still a meaningful one, especially because remember, also, we still sincerely hope that there is a diplomatic path out of this moment. and within the context then of

the fact that that window is still opening, although it is absolutely narrowing, but within the tech of a diplomatic path, still being open, the deterrence effect, we believe, has merit. >> let's go to jennifer jacobs from bloomberg. >> thank you. would you be willing to talk a little bit about how the u.s. would get out of this potential conflict with russia? what is the end game? how does the u.s., after imposing some of these sanctions and military action, how does the u.s. disentangle from this? >> i would characterize it differently. we don't consider ourselves to be entangled, but we're very clear of our principles and our purpose, which is to be aligned with our allies, understanding that -- i mean, listen, guys, we're talking about the potential for war in europe. i mean, let's really take a moment to understand the significance of what we're

talking about. it's been over 70 years, and through those 70 years, as i mentioned yesterday, there has been peace and security. we are talking about the real possibility of war in europe. so our position is for us very clear, which is, as a leader, we have been bringing together the allies, working together around our collective and unified position, that we would all, not just prefer, we desire, we believe, it is in the best interest of all that there is a diplomatic end to this moment. and so where do we want this to end? that is where we want it to end. >> what should americans be braced for? what could they possibly be facing? the president has already said americans will be facing some economic fallout or some hardships. can you explain to americans what exactly will they face, if this happens. >> sure, as the president talked about in his speech, we are

aware that, again, when america stands for her principles and all of the things that we hold dear, it requires, sometimes, for us to put ourselves out there in a way that maybe we will incur some costs. and in this situation, that may relate to energy costs, for example. but we are taking very specific and appropriate, i believe, steps, to mitigate what that cost might be, if it happens. >> let's go to eli at the "los angeles times." >> thank you, madam vice president. the question about something else that president zelensky said yesterday, relating to nato. he seemed to question the sincerity of allies, including the u.s., i think, in terms of a desire to admit ukraine to nato. is there any reaction to those pretty pointed comments from the president and was that something that was discussed with chancellor schultz and other leaders? >> let me start by saying i

appreciate and admire president zelensky's desire to join nato. and one, of, again, the founding principles of nato is that each country must have the ability unimpaired, unimpeded, to determine their own future, both in terms of their form of government, and in this case, whether they desire to be a member of nato. and i'll put that in context, because the obvious is also the point, which is that -- and therefore, no other country can tell anyone whether they should or should not join nato. that should be their independent choice. that is the point of sovereignty. so i respect president zelensky's desire to be a member of nato. nato is a membership. it is about nations coming together, as a group, making

decisions collectively, around, again, principles. and what will be then the conditions and the standards of membership. and so that is the process. it doesn't happen overnight. no one country can say, i want to be, and therefore i will be. and no one country can say, you can't be. and isn't that at the heart of the very issue that we're presented with in terms of russia's aggression or stated aggression toward ukraine? >> is it surprising to you that he planted that flag so firmly on that issue, given that that's obviously putin's main demand, is that he get some sort of guarantee, swearing that ukraine won't be admitted, and that zelensky wants to make it clear that they do want an end to the organization. is that a surprise that he would come and say that at this point in this crisis? and does that make it less likely that there'll be some sort of diplomatic resolution? >> i am not going to second case president zelensky's desires for his own country.

but i will say this. let us recognize the position that he is in right now. his country is virtually surrounded by russian troops. i believe he came out here, this is my belief, based on just my own assessment and speculation, he came here to make a very clear point, that he does not stand alone. in fact, i told him in our meeting, the united states stands with you, because we do, as do this community of allies and partners. so i understand why he came here and i would not second-guess, i will not second-guess why he spoke the words he speaks. he's in a position, again where his country is virtually surrounded. by what i think most reasonable people would believe, hostile

tro troops. >> the ap, please. >> thank you, madame vice president. so daleep singh said late last week that swift sanctions probably won't be part of the opening gambit if sanctions go forward. considering the administration saying early and often that you're going to start high and stay high, who does that square? how can you start high and stay high without swift sanctions in the package? >> we're going to take this one moment at a time in terms of what might need to happen in the future in terms of escalation, but right now we've made our position clear. >> and last question. let's go to fanatasha at cnn. >> thank you, madame vice president. i'm wondering if the u.s. has evidence that putin has given an order to launch an attack, and whether that evidence is shared and agreed upon by the allies here, which includes zelensky,

who has been skeptical of this kind of evidence in the past. >> as the president has said, we believe that putin has made his decision. period. and -- but i will also say that as part of our relationship and partnership in the context of the alliance, we do share information, certainly. because we want to make sure that we are all working with the same information, when we make these very critical and meaningful decisions. the last question about sanctions. and i said it yesterday on the stage. everybody didn't agree at the beginning, about what the consequences should be, if russia reinvades ukraine. we have to meet. we have to discuss it. because each of these nations, i mean, i spent time, a considerable amount of time with the chancellor of germany yesterday. i spent time with the president of the eu yesterday. when we look at the significance of these sanctions, they are

immense. and so, all nations who are a part of this understand that we cannot take lightly or speak lightly about what we are prepared to do, because we do understand the cost we are exacting. and it is severe. so we have had these discussions, again, through a process. we have arrived at this place. and back to the last question, we will, obviously, reassess, depending on how the days, weeks, and months ahead roll out. >> thank you, all. >> you can do the follow-up? >> i was just going to ask, do you believe that the u.s. and ukraine are now more on the same page about what the intelligence suggests than they have been in the past? >> i can tell you that there has been direct communication about the intelligence. >> vice president? >> nothing is being held pack. >> the prime minister of italy does not agree with all of the sanctions plans. he said yesterday that he does

not feel that energy should be sanctioned. does that not undercut u.s. efforts to impose tough, painful, severe financial sanctions? >> as i've said, this is an alliance of nations that each have their priorities and their individual concerns about how anything we do going forward will impact their specific country, their economy, and their security. so, again, i would not deny italy from having its perspective or its list of concerns. we all do, actually. that has been part of this process. and so italy is very much at the table, in terms of these conversations about how we can do this, in a way that achieves its intended purpose, which back to the earlier point, is about deterring russia from invading with a sovereign nation.

and we all understand, including every country in europe, what war in europe looks like. and what it can mean for the citizens of each of those countries. thank you. >> thank you, all. >> thank you, ma'am. >> and we were listening to u.s. vice president kamala harris, making some comments at the munich security conference. we heard her reiterate that the nato alliance is, quote, stronger than ever. she said she respects ukraine's desire to join nato and said that no country had the right to tell another country that they couldn't join nato, which obviously has been a red line for russia. we heard her defending the biden administration's decision to only impose what she said would be, quote, severe sanctions after an invasion -- after an invasion and not before, as ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky had asked for, and she said the threat of sanctions is a meaningful one, but they're still committed to diplomacy. and she said, quote, it's in the best interest of all that there's a diplomatic end.

and she said she will be attending the national city council meeting on ukraine later today convened by president biden. we have my colleague, michael holmes, standing by the ukraine. you were listening in there. what stood out for you? >> reporter: yeah, that same sort of support that, you know, we're standing by ukraine. but it is interesting, the differences, as you say, on sanctions and when they should be imposed and then the belief. certainly, ukraine wants them imposed now or certainly outlined in more detail. a lot of people think that those sanctions should really hit the dp dp oligarchs who surround putin and are in his ear, hit him hard and the word will get back to him. fascinating stuff from the vice president. kim brunhuber, really appreciate it. we are live here in lviv, ukraine. let's bring you update on some other developments. for one, the british prime minister boris johnson warning

that russia is -- and these are his words, planning the biggest war in europe since 1945. he made those remarks during an interview with british media. mr. johnson urge moscow to de-escalate tensions before it's too late. but in ukraine, the tensions keep on rising. >> faster! >> go, go, go! >> that's ukraine's interior minister along with a cnn news croom and other journalists facing mortar fire in eastern ukraine on friday. thankfully, no one was hurt in the incident. but it's part of an escalation that appears to have convince mr. johnson and u.s. president joe biden that a russian invasion of ukraine is likely to happen very soon. while the world watches and waits for russia and vladimir putin's next move, civilians in ukraine bracing, and in some cases, training for possible war.

cnn's erin burnett spoke with residents who say they are ready to fight. >> reporter: this weekend in lviv, ukraine, a few hundred civilians, gathering to prepare at a defense training session. people of all ages, but most of them young. the youngest, for us, the most jarring to see. natalia was here with her daughters, kalina and hefia. she tells me she talks to them all the time about possible war with russia. >> yes, we always talk about this, about war, and we have a plan. that's why we are here. >> reporter: the training organized by a far-right political party and overseen by the ukrainian government's territorial defense forces. people today learning hand-to-hand knife fighting with sticks, using wooden guns to practice shooting around corners. shooting rifles in group tactical target practice, and listening to how to handle

bazookas, detonators, and mines. 4-year-old kalina, paying close attention. her mother tells me, she is most worried they won't leave in time if there's a full russian invasion. but natalia says she stays because she's a surgeon. and i know you want to stay here. why? >> because i'm a doctor and i think i can help people when war will come to our home. >> reporter: nahhalsha's patriotism, a powerful symbol to putin. up here on a windy hill above the city of lviv, she and other ukrainians taking this literally. don't panic. prepare. natalia says if she leaves with her children, her husband would stay behind to fight. and spending time at that practice was eye opening, because on the one hand, we saw there what we have seen from anyone we've spoken to over this past week. they're deeply patriotic and they are passionate.

but in the other, when you see that training, you also realize what a full invasion could look like. how deeply painful it would be and what incredible civilian suffering we would see. back to you. >> all right. our thanks there to erin burnett. now, a short time ago, i spoke with lviv's mayor about the looming military threat from russia. andray sadovy had a lot to say about how his city is preparing for a potential invasion. what are you having to do to the city -- what sort of changes have you had to make in case there is an invasion? >> translator: six months ago, we started to prepare the city for an emergency situation. for example, how to provide water without electricity. and we are capable of doing that today. we tripled our reserves of

medical supplies. we increased the blood reserves. we rearranged the world of our strategic enterprises. we are ready today to live life under extreme conditions. >> reporter: what would the people of lviv do if the russians invade? how would they react? >> translator: firstly, people are ready to defend. the territorial defense is being actively developed. not only in lviv, but in all cities of ukraine. in total, there are approximately 2 million people. they are learning how to use weapons and provide medical aid. this is our country and we must protect ourselves. >> how has this tension, this threat impacted your city and the mood of the city. >> if you see the life in lviv or in other cities, you will see no tension. only a person who watches the

news would be worried. everyone here lives a normal life, yet everyone is getting ready. this energy for preparation gives strength and certainty. lviv is a safe city. and we have welcomed all of them. >> did you ever think as mayor you would be running a city under the threat of russian invasion? >> translator: it's been happening for eight years already, and today we have understood that the threat coming from russia is stronger than ever. it can happen tomorrow. it can happen in a month. it can happen in a year. because russia wants destroy ukraine and wants to destroy the whole democratic world. that's why we have to be like a lion, to push the bear back to his den. >> reporter: if russian officials were listening to this interview right now, what would you say to them? >> translator: if they attack us, then they will suffer from big losses in both military personnel and equipment. this is our free land.

and we will never give it to any anyone. never give up. >> fascinating insight there from the mayor of this city, lviv, in ukraine. and that'll do it for me. i'm michael holmes. cnn has more on the rising tensions between russia and ukraine at the top of the hour. krim brunhuber will have more news from around the world after a short break. see you then. king align can hel. align contains a quality probiotic to naturally help soothe digestive upsetsts 24/7. try align, the pros in digestive health. and join the aligngn healthy gt team up and learn what millions of align users already know. how great a healthy gut can feel. sign up at alignprobiotics.com also try align dualbiotics gummies to help support digestive health.

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after 16 days, the 2022

beijing winter olympics are now in the books. so here's a look at where the medal count stands. norway, 16 gold medals are the most ever won in a single winter games. germany followed in second. china just edging out the u.s. for third. and we're now about 90 minutes away from the closing ceremony, to what's turned out to be an historic winter olympics. cnn's will ripley joins me now live from taipei, taiwan. so, will, china views these games as a resounding success, but how do the u.s. and western countries see it? >> kim, tehese games are like a microchasm of the authoritarian and democracy clash. and the ideological clash. because from china's perspective, these games were fantastic. they say 2 billion viewers worldwide have tuned in, making it the most watched winter olympics in history, according to the chinese government. in the united states, by the way, ratings were down more than 50%. chun felt that it was a huge

success. their olympic bubble, this closed loop that effectively prevented covid from either leaving the loop or coming in. so, of course, at the expense of all of the enjoyment and fun, basically, for athletes and participants of the games, because they had to stay within this closed loop. they could not venture out anywhere in china outside of this highly guarded perimeter. so the authoritarian view, hey, you know, for the greater good, we guarded covid from the country. but from the individual western perspective, they didn't get to go out and have fun. it didn't feel like the olympics for those athletes. china got a lot of questions about its human rights record, which is abysmal. it got a lot of questions about taiwan and hong kong and deflected those questions and deflected questions about peng hsueh, who announced her retirement in a very careful ly

constructed interview. and they're pretty happy about that. and they're happy that they beat the united states in the medal count. day got 15 medals, the best ever medal count if you look at the scoreboard, norway and germany, but china right there with nine gold medals. usa with eight gold medals. usa also doing better than it did four years ago, but still china has just really doubled down and invested in winter sports and sport altogether. they spent almost $9 billion to host these games. a lot of that expense was refurbishing old venues, of course, the covid protocols and the transportation and everything else that has been in place. but their figure skating pairs, gold medal win by a razor-thin margin. f figure skating, eileen gu, now a

darling of the kochinese state media, known as the snow princess. and elana myers taylor won a bronze medal and she'll be the flag bearer at the closing ceremony in a few hours. >> we'll be looking for that. thanks so much, will ripley. really appreciate it. we're learning more about a covid subvariant that scientists have nicknamed stealth omicron. the ba.2 variant has been detected and the world health organization stamts it to be 30% more contagious than omicron and it may have features enabling it to cause serious illness, but la real-world data on its severity is mixed. a second dose of the covid booster might be in the cards. it might be needed as the u.s. gets closer to cold weather. it would have to be authorized by the fda and reviewed by the cdc. after nearly two years of strict pandemic rules, australia

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there's a new winter storm gearing up in the western u.s. it's expected to spread snow from the cascades through the northern rockies today, and it could lead to a severe storm threat in the days ahead. let's bring in meteorologist derek van dam. tell us exactly where we're expecting this and what's going to happen.

>> really, kim, it's going to lay the groundwork for a complex, dynamic storm system to evolve over the next two to three days. in fact, we have our winter weather alerts stretching from minneapolis all the way to portland. and this is what it looks like on radar. not too impressive just yet, but it's gathering steam. check out this video of what is called a snow squall. coming from the midwest, growing up in the snow belt of lake michigan, downwind from lake michigan, we saw snow that dropped visibilities from 10 miles to under a couple of feet in a matter of seconds. that is known as a snow squall. it happens, it's very dangerous, especially when you're traveling on that. and that's what people had to deal with across the northeast. no problems for new england today. you've cleared out nicely. high pressure in control of the weather. but it's really this weather maker that's located across the northern portions of our country that will be the next major concern going forward. it will draw on warmth ahead of it, lots of moisture to work

with, and we'll focus our attention on the areas that have been hardest hit by severe weather last week. remember, arkansas into mississippi, tennessee, saw severe storms and tornadoes. monday into tuesday, that's where we're focusing our attention. keeping an eye to the sky. memphis, nashville, all the way to little rock once again. snowfall on the northern side, the coldest part of the storm. minneapolis, if we see the sliver of heaviest snow band as we move into your city, you'll bet you'll get serious impacts on the roadways within that region. but the other big story will be the arctic air that will settle in behind it. we're talking about nearly a 50-degree temperature difference between monday into tuesday for many locations, including denver. you can see how quickly our temperatures take a nosedive. kim? >> man, 50-degree difference. that's crazy. derek van dam, thanks so much. that wraps this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm kim brunhuber. "new day" is next.

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with us this morning, 6:00 a.m. is the time. welcome to your "new day," i'm christi paul. >> and i'm boris sanchez. this morning there are dire warnings out of ukraine, a looming invasion could begin at any moment. vice president kamala harris has a fresh new warning to russia, though she is reiterating that diplomacy is still possible. also a shocking sight in florida, a helicopter plunging into the ocean near dozens of swimmers. what we're learning about the accident this morning. i take it as a slap that -- that they are insinuatin